Those We Hold Close
by Grace Kay
Summary: Chloe and Nadine don't really do talk. Or feelings. Or talking about feelings. But a lot of that is gonna need to happen once Nadine discovers Chloe's secret.
1. Chapter 1

The only light in the room came in through the windows. Chloe Frazer got out of bed and made her way about by streetlamp alone. She washed her face, brushed her hair and pulled it back into a lazy ponytail, and began to brush her teeth. A trick of the light caught her eye in the mirror, and she turned to look upon the dark form in the bed she'd just vacated.

Skin like milk chocolate, unruly bushes of hair, and the musculature of a boxer: Nadine Ross. How Chloe had ever been lucky enough to get the woman into bed more than once, she'd never know. In fact, she'd always felt it more likely she'd be the victim of that strength rather than the recipient of its surprising gentleness.

But it had become a habit, and now the mixing of business and pleasure when the two were in the same place was so thorough that they might as well be in a romantic partnership as well as a business one. The closest they'd come to defining it, of course, was them both admitting they cared for each other. Those were the exact words, too: "I… care for you," all halting and stupid like teenagers who didn't know what they felt but would say it if it meant shagging afterward. Except Chloe, at least, _did_ know what she felt. And it scared the shit out of her.

Shaking her head, Chloe finished cleaning herself up, threw her toothbrush in her backpack, and pulled on her boots. Then she finally went back to the bed and sat down on the edge.

"Hey," she whispered, gently touching the woman's cheek. Nadine started awake.

"Wha- oh shit, it's you…"

Chloe smirked. "I'll take that as a compliment. And hey! No pulling a gun this time. Progress."

"Oh, shut up," Nadine said, but rather than chuffing her on the shoulder, the former mercenary captain grabbed Chloe by the shirt and pulled her into a quick but sloppy kiss. "You're leaving for the airport?"

"Yep," Chloe said, willing her heart to slow. _How does she do this to me?_ It didn't help that Nadine was _completely_ naked. "Plane's leaving in an hour. God willing there are no delays."

"Well, have a good trip. I'll see you…?" It was a question. Chloe hadn't mentioned when she was coming back. She did technically _live_ where she was going.

"I'll let you know," the thief said, then got up. She was dancing dangerously close to letting it all out. And while she knew a true relationship required trust, and she did maybe want one of those… this wasn't something you laid down at someone's feet as you're out the door, headed back home to the country you resided in. The country that was most definitely _not_ the one _Nadine_ resided in.

 _I'm going to make a mess of this if I don't come clean soon_ , Chloe thought. Out loud, she said, "Take care of yourself. I'll…"

"I'll see you," Nadine said, before rolling over and pulling the sheet up over her naked shoulder. Brusque, concise, and so damn sure of everything. Damn, Chloe was gonna miss her.

Shaking her head, she pulled her backpack on and took a deep breath. She let herself out, leaving her key to the hotel room behind on the nightstand.

Her heart felt lighter as she left the hotel. She might be leaving someone she cared about behind, but she was going to see someone she loved more fiercely than anything in the world.

* * *

Nadine Ross was anything but sentimental. Yet as she got dressed later that morning, she found a shirt of Chloe's, worn and rumpled in the corner. It smelled like the thief and for a moment Nadine's heart panged to have her gone.

"You are a sentimental fool," she told herself, but the shirt went into her own backpack and not the trash. Soon all her things would smell of Chloe. She sighed. "A damned sentimental fool."

She stopped by a coffee shop she'd come to like while she'd been in this place. It had been Chloe's first trip to the United States, and they had come together. They'd found that, yes, New York style pizza and bagels were best actually _in_ New York City, and discovered that in some ways the humidity was worse here, where it smelled of piss and shit on the worst streets, rather than in the jungle, where the loamy smells of the earth and trees were always pleasant. Of course, at least this city had air conditioning and showers. The jungle most definitely did not have those, nor did the underdeveloped cities they'd been to.

Coffee in-hand, Nadine made her way to Central Park to read and consider what to do next. Being with Chloe – in all senses of that statement – had introduced her to not planning out every second of her future. There were some perks to that. She'd never just gone to the park to read when she was planning out her time so meticulously. It was a pleasant change to her life.

Her book lasted her about two hours before she started to feel antsy. What should she do next? This was the part of not planning out her day (week/month/life) that she didn't like. It almost made her anxious not knowing what came next. As Nadine examined the people walking by, she contemplated the rest of her day.

She needed to be at JFK by 9pm, as the flight she was hoping to catch on stand-by left at 11pm. But until then, she had absolutely nothing to do. If Chloe were here, they would go wandering and find some shabby-looking place to eat some of the most delicious food she'd ever had, greasy and fattening and easy to walk off with whatever their next adventure would be. Perhaps a museum, or down to the ticket booths for a Broadway show? Often it was back to the hotel for a spirited romp between the sheets.

Nadine sighed. She had to admit she already missed the woman. It had only been a year since they had escaped that train in India by the skin of their teeth. They'd slept together for the first time that night. Gingerly, for they were both hurt quite badly, and after thoroughly scrubbing off as much of the jungle as they could manage. Fingers and tongues and occasionally teeth had begun the process of solving the puzzles and riddles of each other's bodies.

Over time, Nadine had convinced Chloe that she did not need to immediately go in for the gold, that the anticipation of the tease could be as pleasurable for her to give as it was for Nadine to receive. And Nadine had also come to see the benefit of a firm hand and a stern voice in the bedroom, especially when _she_ was the one wielding them.

The feelings of affection had been slow and subtle. She had come to view the woman as a friend during their few days going after the Hoysala mystery, but it was a mutual respect of their expertise and a friendly sort of trust of the other. It was months before Nadine realized that she was in far too deep for a professional partnership. It had been far too long since she had felt this way, and she cursed herself for falling for such a rogue.

But what was she to do? She felt the way she felt. She could not control her feelings, only her actions. So she sealed her lips and opened her eyes, and continued on with how things had been. She watched Chloe for signs of similar feelings.

And she found them in the little things. Chloe took her to Iceland on a job that wasn't very lucrative, but which took Nadine to a place that was on her bucket list. Chloe found the perfect, most subtle jewelry for her complexion in the tiniest street vendor's stalls while they walked the markets, looking for treasures they could turn around and sell for more. And the food… Chloe introduced Nadine to the pleasure of the pallet, something Nadine had long eschewed – she'd grown up a soldier's daughter, after all. Why change anything in adulthood? MREs were fine for her.

Chloe showed her affection in a million little ways, even if she did not say the words. Nadine knew what that was like. She, too, was not a woman of words, but of action. Her actions tended to be much larger, however.

It was one night three months before, for instance, that she finally _said_ the words. She said – haltingly, awkwardly, while presenting an ornately carved box for her Ganesh statuette to live in – that Chloe meant a great deal to her, so the thief needed to keep herself safe when Nadine couldn't. Chloe had responded in kind.

They'd then shagged like never before.

That had been the status quo since. And now Nadine sat here, in Central Park, thinking only of Chloe, of the long hair, of the touch of her hands, of the scent she knew she'd find when she went digging in her backpack later. She loved that woman despite everything in her that told her not to love anyone. She couldn't afford it. She had enemies, and they would exploit that. But Chloe had weaseled her way into the mercenary's heart and there wasn't a whole lot Nadine could do about it now that it had happened.

 _I suppose I could walk away. Would she even have me? Like that?_

Nadine frowned. Chloe was even less about attachments than Nadine. But they had struck a partnership and trusted each other with their lives. Where did that leave them? If Chloe ran from this, could Nadine deal with that?

"Oh for pity's sake," she said aloud. Yes, she could deal with that. Sitting in limbo like this was far worse than knowing for sure. She'd rather know.

If Chloe didn't want her, or was too scared to have her, then Nadine could walk away, make her life elsewhere on her own. She always had. And if Chloe _did_ want her, then she wouldn't have to feel so very foolish for her damned sentimentality. The rest could hopefully follow from there.

So what to do? Nadine was a do-er, not a say-er. So she needed to do something. But what?

Her phone buzzed with an update for the flight she was hoping to catch. She peered at it, then up at the New York skyline. Chloe was going back to Australia, where she technically lived full-time. Nadine was headed back to Johannesburg for a few weeks, mostly because she had nowhere else to go or to be for the moment.

 _I wonder…_

She got up suddenly, shoved her book in her bag, and jogged out to the street, where she hailed a cab.

"Where to?" the cabby asked.

"JFK," she said, then sat back, beginning to refine her plan as the car pulled out into traffic.

* * *

 _A/N: Hi folks. I'm obviously incredibly unreliable on updates these days, and here I am taking on something else. But the idea wouldn't leave me alone after I finished this game, and since writing is for fun, I figured I'd do some writing on whatever I wanted while I had the time. The babies are napping, and I have the time._

 _I have a good idea of where this is going, I just don't know if I want it to all be one fic or split it into two. I'll see where it takes me. I hope y'all enjoy!_


	2. Chapter 2

Chloe stepped off the plane well rested. Or, at least, as well rested as one could be sleeping the last seven hours of a twenty three hour flight. She'd gotten rather good at it over the years. She forwent the last meal on the plane in favor of sleep, so she splurged on her way out. The scone wasn't the best she'd ever had, and it was pricey, but it was far better than the terrible airplane food.

Outside, it was far colder than usual, probably closer to ten degrees than the usual sixteen or seventeen. She'd lost all her cold weather during her last two jobs. Everything in her backpack – including the backpack itself – had been purchased once they'd received their payment, in New York.

She immediately hailed a cab.

"Dressed down a bit for this weather, ain't ya?" the cabby said by way of greeting.

"I was in New York, mate. It's summer there. Bloody hot. Lost my jacket." She didn't know why she didn't just tell him to fuck off. _I must be in the habit of playing nice when I'm here_ , she thought.

"Fair enough. Where to? Department store? New sweater?"

"I have plenty at home." _Home_. Now that was a thought. She shared the cross streets with him, and sat back to enjoy the ride through downtown.

Twenty minutes later, they were at the right place. "You have a specific address, love? Bit cold out there to be dropped off on a street corner."

Chloe swiped her credit card – actually a prepaid VISA, you could never be too careful. "No. This is fine. I'll manage." Then she was out of the car.

He was right. It was quite cold. But she'd rather no one know her specific address, though here she was mostly safe. It was just habit from her entire adult life working in the treasure hunting underground. She knew she'd made enemies. She didn't want them following.

Chloe took off at a light jog. Her address was only a block away, and before she knew it, she was at the entrance to a tall building of condominiums. Pushing inside, she sighed with relief to experience the warmth on her skin.

"Ms. Frazer!"

Chloe looked up to see the usual concierge behind the desk. "Hey, Billy! Long time no see!"

"What is it, a month this time? I know someone who will be happy to see you!"

Chloe smiled, but inside her heart fell. She'd been gone so long this time. Keeping her varied lives separate was difficult, and taking time out for Nadine just added to the complexity. _Christ, what am I doing?_

She hit her floor number – unlucky thirteen – once she made it into the elevator, and sat back to wait. Just one floor up, the elevator stopped and let someone else on. He was tall and vaguely familiar – she'd probably seen him in the building before – and he paused as if to inspect her for a moment before turning and hitting a different floor number. Chloe's hackles wanted to rise, but she could see no reason for it. He was just astonished that she traveled with a backpack and no coat. Right?

The door opened on her floor, and she shook off her unease. Despite herself, she was excited. She hadn't been home in a while. Much too long, she was realizing. It was easy to ignore when she was out working, traveling, and shagging Nadine. But whenever she came home, she realized she'd been gone much, much too long.

Letting the smile on her face grow wide, she stuck her key in the door and opened it.

Dark brown hair flashed in the afternoon sun coming in through the window. She saw a green and yellow striped shirt and a pair of jeans with yellow socks to match, before the person wearing them was in her arms and her heart was full.

"Mummy! You're home!"

* * *

Nadine stepped off the airplane into darkness. Well, technically she stepped into the ever-powered lights of the terminal. But outside, night had fallen. Already she was reminded of winter at home. It made sense – Johannesburg was only a little north of Sydney as far as latitude went. And Sydney was where she was now.

 _I must be crazy_ , she thought, not for the first time. But she was here. There was no going back. She had to know, one way or the other.

On the way out of the airport, a jacket caught her eye. It would be cold outside, and she might be wandering a little while. Paying far more than the thing was worth – the airport tax, as Chloe called it – Nadine pulled the slim thing on and made her way out of the airport.

It took fifteen minutes of waiting in the cold before she finally had a cab. She shared the address with the driver, and settled in, trying to ignore the churning feeling in her gut.

Sydney was beautiful. She'd never been before, having never had a reason and never having traveled anywhere without a reason before Chloe. Chloe had added so much spontaneity to her life. Sometimes it seemed Nadine hadn't done much to enjoy herself before meeting Chloe.

 _If this doesn't work out, at least I'll have that. I don't want to go back to all business and absolutely no pleasure._

The car stopped. "We're here," the cabby said.

Nadine frowned. Maybe she should go to a hotel, sleep some, think about this. It had been a _long_ flight, and Nadine had been awake for nearly all of it. Thinking. Picturing the best and the worst ways this could play out.

But she was here. If it didn't work out, she could go find a hotel. And if it _did_ work out… Well, presumably she would be sleeping here.

She paid the cabby in cash, took a deep breath, and exited out onto the street.

The building was tall. Nadine stood outside after the block's walk and just marveled for a moment. It wasn't that she hadn't seen skyscrapers before, but she was envisioning Chloe living inside and it was… different. Somehow, Chloe belonged in dirty cities and jungles and perhaps the Outback, but not… a condo. But this was where she lived.

Nadine knew this was where Chloe lived for she had memorized the woman's address as part of their business partnership, in case she ever needed to inform Chloe's mother of Chloe's death or injury. She was one of the privileged few who knew this address, and it must never be written down. Nadine understood. She, too, had made enemies, and kept her personal life and abode to herself. She had no family to inform of anything, however, so her address remained private.

It hit her like a brick wall that, if everything went well, nothing about that might be true anymore: she would have someone to inform of her maiming, and her address would not be something only _she_ knew.

"Good evening, miss," someone said upon her entrance. Nadine sought out the speaker, and found some kind of doorman or concierge behind the desk. "Can I help you?"

Nadine shook off her immediate irritation. This was this man's job. Lord knew Nadine had worked glorified security more than once. She hated keeping people out almost as much as she hated being _kept_ out.

"I came to visit… a resident," she said, trying to keep things as simple as possible.

"I see. And who shall I buzz?"

Nadine sighed. She was hoping to surprise Chloe at her door. She'd be naked if she could manage it, but a public hallway definitely wasn't the place for that.

"I'm here to see Ms. Frazer, on the thirteenth floor."

The man looked surprised by that. "I see. May I ask your name, please?" he said, picking up the phone.

Nadine's temper flared. "No, you may not."

He was undeterred. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but I can't just let anyone up. I need to let Ms. Frazer know who I'm sending up to see her." He paused. "Or… I can let her know she has a visitor, and she can choose to come down."

"Ja. Do that," Nadine said, resolving to make the most of it. Her presence here would still be a surprise. She could force her way through, of course, but that would be counterproductive to say the least.

She waited while he made his call. It was clear Chloe was confused, hesitant, maybe even a little pissed. _Not how I wanted her to receive me…_

Finally, the bellboy or whatever he was hung up the phone. "All right. She'll be right down. She was certainly surprised…"

"She's not expecting me," Nadine said, before sealing her lips and going over by the couches in the waiting area.

It didn't take long for the elevator to ding. Nadine turned to see Chloe step out. She was still wearing the same thing she'd been wearing when she left Nadine in their New York hotel thirty six hours before: black tank top, jeans, black leather boots, her dusky skin looking paler than usual in the fluorescent lights. _She always did look best under the light coming through the jungle canopy._ The only difference was her hair; it was down, long and luxurious, flowing down her back with a few strands caught on the skin of her lips.

It took a moment for Chloe to see Nadine, and in that moment, Nadine saw the distrust on her partner's face. Her brows were knit, her head moved in sharp jerks as her eyes scanned the waiting area, and the skin of her face was pulled tight in a frown. Then she saw Nadine, and her whole demeanor changed. Her eyes and brows opened in surprise, her shoulders untensed, and her mouth opened to make an "O".

Nadine's lips pulled up in a small smile. Chloe hurried to her side.

"Hey," Nadine said.

"How… What…" Chloe paused, ran her hand through her long hair.

"Do you finally not have any clever rebuttal?"

"I thought you were going to Johannesburg."

Nadine furrowed her brows. She was hoping for a bit more… joy. Jokes. A hug, a kiss. Something other than… that. "I was, but I decided to come see you."

"Why?" Chloe was agitated again, though obviously not because she was suspicious anymore. She seemed like perhaps she had something to hide.

Nadine's heart fell despite herself. _Bloody fool_. "To have a conversation. One not meant for public view," she added, eyeing the doorman pointedly.

Chloe nodded. "Right. Of course. I… come with me." She grabbed Nadine's hand and pulled, heading for a hallway. She pushed on a door, and then they were inside.

"A… bathroom? Really?"

Chloe turned from locking the door. "What? It's empty and therefore private."

Nadine huffed. "Chloe, don't be so stupid."

"What?"

"You _know_ why I'm here." Her temper flared again, and she began pacing. "You _have_ to know."

"Well I don't. What, is it a new job?" The thief stood with her arms crossed. Nadine ignored the way it pushed her bosom up. Well, she didn't, but it didn't soften her anger. Benefit of being a woman: tits weren't nearly as special as men made them out to be, and Nadine knew it.

"Chloe…" She took a deep breath and stepped closer, holding out her hand. Chloe eyed it a moment before relaxing a little and placing her palm in Nadine's. "I'm here because…" _I can't say "I care about you" again. This is love. Or it isn't. Just get the damned words out, Ross._

"Yes?"

"Dammit Chloe!" Nadine dropped her hand and turned away. "You damned dense fool. I couldn't say _why_ , given your behavior now, but I love you."

"You… love me?"

"Yes."

"And this is…"

"My big gesture."

"Your big gesture?"

Nadine turned, frustrated. "Don't tell me you don't know this about us. Your gestures are small, but there are many. That job in Iceland during the aurora borealis. The silver monkey necklace that was probably a knock-off but still looked _very_ old. Getting me that Glock I had been eyeing in the market in Johannesburg. You listen so well, and then you show me you listen, _months_ later sometimes. What is that if it isn't love?"

Nadine took a breath and soldiered on. "I do big gestures. I took you to New York, to the States for the first time. I gave you that box for that relic of Ganesh. And… I'm here, in your home, to tell you I love you and that I want more than what we've been doing." She paused for a moment, then, "Or I want to go back to a strictly professional partnership. I can't do this limbo anymore."

"I've lived quite happily in limbo my whole life," Chloe muttered.

Nadine pulled back as if she had been stung. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

Chloe took a deep breath. "Nothing. I'm sorry."

"You're _sorry_?!"

"Nadine, no, look, I… it's complicated." Chloe's eyes slipped up to the ceiling, perhaps looking through stone and steel toward her apartment.

"Complicated?" She paused, narrowing her eyes realization striking her like a hot iron. "You… there _is_ someone else, isn't there?" She strode toward the mirror, looking through it to Chloe. "Who is it? Some woman? Some _man_? If it's Nathan Drake, I swear I-"

"Nathan?! He's married and living in _America_! Christ, Nadine, it's complicated for a good reason! I have…"

"What?"

"A son."

Of all the things Nadine expected to hear, that was so far from the list that Chloe may as well have said that she had a tail.

"I… what?"

Chloe deflated, and all her defensiveness melted off of her. "I have a son, Nadine. _That's_ why it's complicated."

* * *

 _N/A: So I apologize. I decided to place this story in Australia and then realized I know **nothing** about living anywhere but where I live - which is the US. Which Chloe's never been to, according to her in the game. Fuuuuuuuuuu. So I'm winging it with some help from a friend who's at least traveled to Sydney and with some serious Googling. So the reason I'm sorta keeping things as general as I can is because, while I **have** lived in a big city (NYC and LA), I've never lived outside the US. OOOOOOPS!_

 _In other news, thank you for the reviews and your thoughts. I hope you continue to enjoy!_


	3. Chapter 3

"How have you not told me this before?!"

Chloe sighed, her forehead in her hand. "I was waiting for the right time?"

"Don't be flippant!"

Chloe sighed again. "Look. We should… talk. Not in a bathroom. Let me… let me go make my excuses and we can go grab something to eat and have some privacy. All right?"

She looked up to see Nadine looking _almost_ as pissed as she had when she found out about Sam Drake. Chloe braced herself for another left jab to the jaw, but instead Nadine huffed, shook her head, and deflated just slightly.

"Ja. All right." Then she turned, unlocked the door, and marched out. Chloe followed several paces behind.

Chloe's heart fell right through her stomach when she saw someone out in the lobby who should _not_ have wandered downstairs.

"Mum?"

"Max, you shouldn't be down here." Chloe jogged forward, past Nadine, and stopped him before he made it all the way to the woman in question. This was going to get even more awkward, very fast.

"But you have a visitor. You never have visitors. Are you leaving again? You _just_ got back!"

Chloe's heart almost melted. "No Max, I'm not leaving again, I'm just going to take her to dinner to… talk about some things."

"We were about to eat Grandmum's lasagna. It's your favorite." His little face looked around her to Nadine. "Is this a friend?"

"Yeah, she's… a friend," Chloe said. Her heart was beating far faster than it ever did when she had a _gun_ on her. _This wasn't how I wanted to do this!_

"She could come up and have lasagna. Grandmum wouldn't mind."

Chloe put her hands on her hips and examined her son. He was eleven, sharp as a whip, didn't miss much, and clearly feeling clingy and possessive at the moment. She could hardly blame him. She'd been gone for a _month_.

She turned to consider Nadine. The woman seemed… Chloe couldn't tell. Her brows were furrowed and she had a small frown, but it seemed more disbelief than anger at this point.

"Well?"

The former mercenary captain started, as if she'd spaced out. "What?"

"My son has just invited you for dinner. Do you accept?"

"I…" Uncertain brown eyes found Chloe's. "All right."

Chloe nodded. "All right." She turned back to her son. "Max, this is Nadine Ross. You should call her Ms.-"

"Nadine is fine." The woman in question marched forward, holding out her hand. Max reached for it, and Nadine gave it a very business-like pump. "Good to meet you, Max. I've…" Her eye slid sideways to Chloe's. "I've heard quite a lot about you."

Max seemed happy at that lie. "I didn't know Mum talked about me to her friends! What does she say?"

Chloe stepped in to rescue Nadine immediately. "I told her about your winning the science fair," she said.

"Yeah?! Awesome!" Max let go of Nadine's hand and smiled up at her. "It was a volcano, but the whole thing was edible! The volcano was biscuits, and the lava was boiling sugar water."

"Sounds dangerous," Nadine commented, a small smile on her lips. _That's encouraging._

"Yeah, I had to wear gloves and keep people away. But then after we took a million pictures, we cut it all up and ate it. Grandmum's cookies are always good, but as a volcano they're _way_ better!" He turned and practically skipped to the elevator. "This is fun! Mum never has friends over."

"Never, huh?" Nadine eyed her from the side, her small smile now a tiny smirk. "Never once?"

Chloe frowned. "I keep that sort of thing separate from him." It was more than just an explanation of her sexual escapades. It was an explanation for why she'd never told Nadine about him.

And she definitely caught on. "I see… including me." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah."

Nadine nodded. "We'll talk?"

"Yeah," Chloe said, and put her hand on Nadine's elbow. It seemed important to touch the other woman. To let her know she meant it, about talking. To let her know she was not closed off. To let her know she'd heard her earlier and had not forgotten the declaration of love.

Love. From _Nadine Ross_.

Chloe was astonished. _I'll either come out of this as an honest woman… or as a corpse_. Chloe reached out and tousled Max's hair as he pressed the button for their floor. _Only one of those options is the correct one._

* * *

It was an awkward dinner, to say the least. A tall woman – even taller than Chloe – with pale skin and brown hair like the boy's greeted them upon entrance to the apartment.

"Hullo. Who is this?"

"Nadine, this is my mum, Hannah. Mum, this is Nadine."

"And she is?"

Nadine watched Chloe carefully. Chloe's eyes flicked to Nadine's, and they stared at each other for a moment.

"This is… we're dating, Mum."

"Dating?! I thought she was a friend! Awesome!" Max, the boy, seemed beside himself, but Nadine only had eyes for Chloe.

This was the little thing. They hadn't talked yet. Nadine had declared her love and done her big action, coming to Sydney unannounced. Now Chloe quietly introduced her to her family – a little bigger than Nadine had been expecting – and claimed Nadine as her own. Just like that. They still needed to talk. But this was a very small thing that made it _very_ clear to Nadine where she stood as she waited for that conversation.

She was still upset. But she would see this through.

Nadine finally clued back in at Chloe's voice. "Come on, china," she said with a wink. "No need to make it more awkward."

An hour later, they finally had some privacy. Chloe's room was on the small side, but the twin bed in the corner made the room actually feel rather spacious. She had a desk, a computer, and a television. It was all so… _normal_. Not the Chloe Nadine had come to know, who could talk her way out of almost anything and knew her way around a side arm. This was… well, it was Mum-Chloe.

"Not to your liking?" Chloe quipped. Nadine turned to see her leaning against the closed door.

Nadine was quiet a moment, then raised an eyebrow. "A twin bed? Really?"

A chuckle. "I don't usually bring people home here."

"Right. You keep that sort of thing separate from your… Max."

Chloe smiled, a warm, genuine thing that lit up her face. "Yes. Max."

"He's quite a boy."

The smile disappeared. "What do you think?"

Nadine turned back to the rest of the room. It was a spectacular view out the window. "About what?"

"Well. I'm sure this wasn't how you expected your little trip here to go. Dinner with my family. My mum." She paused. "My _son_."

"Yes, the son part. That was unexpected."

Truthfully Nadine didn't know what to feel. She'd been thinking a lot during dinner, but it wasn't enough time, nor with enough privacy. Chloe had lied. But… sharing about their lives wasn't really something _either_ of them was practiced at.

Still. This was a whopper of a secret to keep even after they'd come to their understanding about having feelings.

"You're being frustratingly neutral," Chloe said. Nadine could only turn and glance at the other woman. "Fine." Chloe moved to the bed and sat upon it. "So what about the rest of it?"

"The rest of what?"

"Why you're here? You… you said you love me."

"Yes. I did."

"And?"

Nadine looked back out the window. "You should try being more specific with your questions."

A frustrated noise. "You know the full truth now!" she nearly shouted. "Do you still…"

"God, you can't even say it," Nadine finally said, turning and glaring. "You can't say the words. You can keep a secret like this from me for a _year_ but you can't say the words!"

Chloe was immediately defensive. "You're not saying them either!"

Nadine put all her weight on one foot and leaned back with her arms crossed, considering Chloe sitting in front of her. "You want to hear the words? Again? Fine. Chloe Frazer, I've fallen in love with you. And if you aren't _very_ careful, you won't have me _or_ our business arrangement any longer."

"You would pull out of our business arrangement if I won't… _marry_ you?!"

Nadine scoffed. "Who said anything about marriage? I said I _love_ you. And you answered with a secret that could have compromised _everything_ over the last year. Why would I enter a business partnership with someone who keeps such crucial information from me? You don't think I needed to know that?!"

"That secret that could compromise everything is a _person_. My _son_." Chloe nearly hissed like a snake in her anger. "I grew that boy _inside_ of me. I birthed him. I changed his nappies and walked him to school and put little dinosaur bandages on his scraped _knees_. Think for one _second_ , Nadine! Why do you think I've kept him a secret? Christ, not even Nathan and Sam know about Max, Chloe!"

"So you can hold on to your youth, your vigor, your sexual freedom?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "No. That's nice, sure. But Max is a secret precisely for why you said."

"What?"

"He's a liability to our jobs, our partnership. Why is that?"

Nadine pursed her lips. "Because someone could kidnap him, use him to get to you."

"Yes, good job," Chloe said, her voice dripping sarcasm.

Nadine blinked a moment. "You… you keep him a secret so no one can use him against you?"

"Wrong," Chloe said. She sat up straight and fixed her with a death glare. "I keep him secret to keep _him_ safe. Not me. Not the job. _Him_."

That truth hit Nadine like a hammer. She'd always assumed everything was about Chloe. She was a selfish dickhead, as they'd discussed all those months ago in the Ghats. But maybe there was more nuance there. She wasn't like Nadine. Nadine didn't wish to take risks unless there was at least some reward assured. But Chloe took risks, yet somehow knew precisely when to walk away, when the risk was _too_ great and her death was inevitable, no matter the reward. She used her body to her advantage, making her look like a whore to those who didn't know her. She never seemed to take anything seriously and her humor was ever-present. She was a complete rogue.

And it was a mask, at least in part. Everything she did threw others off the trail of… _this_. Of Max. Of her comfy family life. Of the reason for the treasure hunting in the first place: to make a comfortable life for her mother and her son.

"I…"

"Don't," Chloe said, getting up and going to the closet. "You can stay here a while longer. Think about all this. I'm going to take a shower. I'll be back in a bit. You can tell me what you think then." Chloe grabbed what looked like a robe and left the room.

Nadine sat down to think.

She started by putting herself in Chloe's shoes. She was thirty-three? She would've had Max when she wasn't much more than twenty, definitely before twenty-five. Right when she was making a name for herself as a thief of rarities. People, enemies and allies alike, would definitely have used her son against her to get her to do what they wanted. The only reason Nadine wasn't used against her father was because she was _with_ him at all times, learning the ropes, and surrounded by his loyal soldiers.

 _What if I had a son and this was my profession. What if_ _ **I**_ _was Chloe, and not me? What would I do?_

Nadine knew the answer if it were her: she'd do what her own father had done, and keep her child with her at all possible times. But she was not Chloe. Chloe didn't have an army to surround herself with, she didn't have loyal connections who might care for her son. She had her quick wit, some money, her body, and the ability to employ all of them in a web of subterfuge.

Chloe had hidden Max in plain sight, and thrown everyone so far off his trail that the very thought of _Chloe_ having a _son_ was preposterous.

Twenty minutes after leaving, Chloe reappeared. She stood just inside the door, studying Nadine where she sat on the edge of the bed.

"Well?" she said.

Nadine got up from her seat, went directly to Chloe, reached out, and pulled her into a blistering kiss.

"If you'll have me, I'd like to say," she said when she pulled back.

Chloe examined her carefully. "Yeah?"

Nadine just nodded.

"All right." Chloe took Nadine's hand and pulled her toward the bed. "We're gonna need to shag before we talk anymore, though."

Nadine rolled her eyes. Perhaps not all of it was a mask.

* * *

 _A/N:_ _This chapter is Nadine's POV-heavy. I'll try to remedy that going forward. Hope y'all are enjoying this!_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Just a quick note that, thanks to someone far more knowledgeable than I, I went back and fixed the weather issue. It does not snow in Sydney. I think I read the average temperature in Sydney in the winter at 16 C as being 16 F. Oops... can I blame mom-brain?_

* * *

A warm, brown hand trailed along her hip.

"So."

Chloe adjusted her head on the pillow. "So."

"A son."

"Yes. Max."

"I'd like to know more," Nadine said after a moment.

"What would you like to know?"

"All of it, eventually." Nadine sounded so matter-of-fact, even now, even after spirited – if quiet – sex. Yet somehow she had a bedroom voice, a quiet softness to her demeanor. Matter-of-fact, yes, but still full of feeling. "But for now I'll settle for how he came to be. Is his father in the picture?"

"No," Chloe said, looking into Nadine's eyes. The woman's curls in all their magnificent splendor were splayed out over Chloe's shoulder, her head pillowed just above Chloe's naked breast. "He doesn't know about Max. He's… he's not a good man. I only want Max to know good men. Not scoundrels." _No one like me_ , she added mentally. _He doesn't know that part of me._

"I see. Did you know the man from a job?"

"Yes. We hooked up throughout the caper and then he betrayed me in the end to keep all the cash. Literally shoved me out of a truck as it sped off." She grimaced. "Did me the favor of not being at full speed, I suppose."

Chloe felt Nadine tense up. It took a moment, but then Nadine spoke. "Any chance I could track him down for you? Return the favor?"

Chloe chuckled darkly. "Sure. But I don't want you to. I'm done with him." She smiled. "I got the better deal."

"Max?"

"Yeah," Chloe said with a nod. "Max."

"He's quite a kid."

Chloe let out a true laugh at that. "Yes. He is. Sorry he regaled you with science facts all night."

Nadine shrugged. "It's all right. I remember being young and interested."

"As if you're not still interested."

"What?"

Chloe gave her a tiny bump with her hip. "All those _Wikipedia_ facts you've got at your fingertips about animals?"

"Yes. Well. We all have things you wouldn't expect about us."

"Fair enough," Chloe said, knowing Nadine meant Max. She couldn't argue with that.

"So I have some questions of my own," Chloe said after a few minutes of silence.

"What?"

"You love me. Like. Love, love."

"Yes. Perhaps against my better judgment, but I do."

Chloe steeled herself. She knew she needed to say the words, or this moment wouldn't matter and she'd lose Nadine forever. And she certainly didn't want that.

"I think I love you, too."

Nadine took a moment to respond. "Wow."

"What?"

"You said it." It was a simple statement, but Chloe knew how profound it was. She didn't make a habit of making herself vulnerable like this. "Somehow I never thought I'd hear you say it."

"This isn't the first time I've loved, you know," Chloe said, feeling a little prickly. "I thought I loved Nathan Drake at one point." She ignored Nadine's noise of disgust. "I still think I loved him. But he was so clearly in love with that woman he's married to now. I knew not to get in the way of a good thing. It had potential. And they just had a little girl, so I know I was right."

"And us? Do we have potential?"

"That depends," Chloe said.

"On what?"

"If you keep getting along with Max."

Nadine pushed herself up on one elbow. "Sounds like a fair condition."

Chloe reached out for her face. "We're a package deal, now that you know about him."

"I watched my father go through enough women who tried to mother me to know how it works, Chloe. I always came first to him. And Max will always come first for you."

Chloe smiled, trailing her fingers along Nadine's collarbone. "Did I ever tell you how good you look naked?"

Nadine small smile turned into a grin. "Once or twice, maybe."

"Well," Chloe said, snaking her hand around to bury in those amazing curls. "Let me make sure to tell you at least one more time: you look _really_ good naked, Ross."

Nadine allowed herself to be pulled into another kiss, and the rest of the night was lost to each other.

* * *

Chloe awoke late. She'd neglected to pull the curtains the night before, yet still she'd slept through the bright sunlight. Looking down, she saw before she registered the feeling of Nadine's back pushed into her front. Curls were all she saw, their scent filling her nose with all sorts of associations, all of them pleasant.

"We should get dressed," she said softly, not wanting to startle Nadine awake. A startled Nadine pulled a gun on you more often than not.

A soft groan greeted her before a true response. "I've never known you to complain about nudity."

"Yes, well, eleven-year-old boys tend to," Chloe said with a grin. "And he usually crawls in bed with me the mornings after I return."

"Fine, fine." Nadine sat up, and Chloe missed the warmth of her skin. The darker-skinned woman began pulling on her shirt. "What time is it, anyway? I'm hopelessly jetlagged."

Chloe moved around her… _lover. She's my lover. No that's terrible. What is this, a fantasy novel? Girlfriend… God, no, not that. Partner? This needs some work_. _Girlfriend for now, I guess._ Chloe picked up her underwear, looking for the clock. "Ten… that can't be right." Abandoning her clothes, Chloe grabbed up her robe and slipped it on.

"What's wrong?"

"The apartment is awfully quiet for ten o'clock," Chloe said, walking out of her room. "Mum?" she called.

Nadine hurried up behind her, buckling her pants as she went. "You're worried." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah." She walked to her mother's room.

Nothing.

"Could they have gone somewhere without us? Let us sleep in, with you having a guest over and all?" Nadine asked.

Chloe shrugged. "Yeah, they could have. But this doesn't feel right." She'd learned to trust her gut as a treasure hunter. She checked Max's room.

Nothing.

"They would leave a note. Or text me. Or _something_." Chloe went back to the kitchen.

"No note," Nadine said, eyes scanning all the countertops. "Anywhere else we should look?"

Chloe furrowed her brows. "No." She folded her arms. "I don't like this."

Nadine moved in front of her, looking up into her eyes. Their slight height difference was always cute to Chloe, but right now the thief could not muster a laugh. She appreciated Nadine's presence, though. "We'll find them, Chloe. They probably just went out. Does your mother have a cell?"

"Good idea." Chloe rushed to her bedroom, pulling up the cell phone she used at home – couldn't use the same phone on jobs, not with the shady people she worked with – and highlighting her mother's name.

The phone rang. And rang. And rang.

"Do you hear it here?" she asked Nadine.

"No, nothing." Nadine now started to look alert like when an animal or rival treasure hunter was about to try to fuck up their day. "Max have a phone?"

"Yeah. Trying it now. Same thing. Rings and rings and ri-"

" _Hello, Chloe."_

Chloe's heart dropped through her stomach. She felt all the blood drain from her face. She knew that voice.

"What?!" Nadine mouthed.

Chloe finally answered. "Derek?" she croaked.

" _Good memory."_ The voice took a breath and hummed it back out. " _I have a son, Chloe. You didn't tell me."_

"You shoved me out of a truck. We were done."

Nadine's eyes got big. " _Him?!_ " she mouthed once more.

Chloe nodded.

" _I deserve to know my son, Chloe."_

Chloe's blood instantly boiled. "Give him back, you bastard! He's not _yours_! He's _mine_! I'll kill you!" It was true. She would happily murder him in that moment.

The man on the other end, Derek, her once-lover and the unknowing sperm donor to her unplanned child, just _tutted_ at her over the line. " _Careful with the threats, Chloe. You want to see him again, don't you? Your mother, too. Such a lovely woman."_

"What do you want, you sick bastard?!"

" _Meet me at the zoo at noon. We can talk in a nice, public space_." Three beeps signaled a dropped call, and Chloe was left staring at Nadine, gaping like a fish.

* * *

Nadine watched Chloe's mouth open and close. No words came out, but her breathing was ragged. The mercenary finally moved close and put both hands on either side of the taller woman's face, cradling each cheek in her palms. She didn't say anything, just waited for Chloe's eyes to focus.

Two pale eyes converged upon her, the dark pupils shrinking and the essence held inside focusing their attention on Nadine.

"I'm here," Nadine said.

Chloe nodded. "You're here." She swallowed, blinked, moved her mouth a bit more, but her eyes did not leave Nadine's.

"I'm not leaving." She pulled a stray strand of hair away from Chloe's face. "I gather nothing good is happening?"

Chloe shook her head. It seemed to galvanize her, and suddenly the thief was moving. "I need a weapon. And you need to stay here. I can't risk anything happening to them because he sees I'm not alone."

Nadine ran after her. "Chloe, slow down! We need a plan! And you need to tell me precisely what is happening!"

"I can't… I can't go over it right now. There's no time. Have to be at the zoo by noon."

Nadine caught Chloe's arm, pulling her around. "It's only ten-thirty! We have more than an hour to get _something_ together. Now, give me the details. While you gather your things. Come on." Nadine had been hoping for a shower - she'd gone since she'd left New York - but she kissed that idea goodbye as soon as she saw that _look_ on Chloe's face.

She listened now as Chloe told her all she knew. Max's father, this Derek, had been a thief like her. Their dalliance had ended when Derek had betrayed her, pushing her out of their escape vehicle and taking all the earnings from their venture for himself. He'd used it to set himself up a tidy little drug empire in the caribbean. Now, for some reason, he was in Australia and had taken Chloe's mother _and_ son.

"And I don't know why," Chloe finished. She wore cargo pants, a thermal shirt, and a fleece vest - a bit chilly for the weather, but light and breathable in case she needed to run or fight. Knowing Chloe, murder might well be on the list of possibilities, as well.

"All right. Well. Weapons, you're right. Also a way to communicate."

"Nadine, you're not coming-"

"I know," Nadine said, finishing tying on her boots. "We won't interact. I'll be a zoo spectator. Guest. Whatever it's called. But we need to give you an earpiece so I can hear this exchange, and so that I can give you instructions if shit goes sideways. One he can't see." She grabbed up a spare jacket of Chloe's and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Chloe called.

"Those things I just mentioned?" she said, pausing at the door to see Chloe's puzzled expression. "I know a guy."

Chloe stood looking surprised for a moment, then managed to crack the smallest smile. "Of course you do."

Nadine smiled to herself as they left. Getting Chloe to smile while something like this was happening was a _very_ good thing indeed.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Sorry this took a while, folks. Life, work, babies, and not knowing the precise details of where this was headed all conspired against me. But now I have it! Enjoy!_

* * *

Chloe stood with her hands in her pockets. She itched to bounce on the balls of her feet, she was full of so much nervous energy. It was like pulling a caper, except she couldn't get excited. Derek had her _son_ , her _baby_ , and she _had_ to get him back.

She tried not to frown as her stomach did a nauseating somersault. _I'm going to kill that man._

Underneath her loose fleece vest, nestled into the small of her back, sat the leather holster of a Glock. It was the result of a favor called in by Nadine. A duffel bag had been dropped in an alley behind a hole-in-the-wall deli, and they had retrieved it and retreated to a seedy motel near the zoo. Outfitted with a bullet-proof vest, a weapon, and the smallest wireless earpiece Chloe had ever seen, they had made their way to their destination, splitting up blocks before they got to the zoo so Chloe was seen entering alone. She knew Derek had eyes all over this place.

And now she waited.

It didn't take long. As Chloe wandered by the rhinoceros exhibit, she heard a voice behind her.

"You look good, Chloe."

She was nearly knocked flat by the memories that assaulted her. That voice used to whisper filthy things in her ear. She had been young and incredibly reckless, in a way she no longer was - she knew when to walk away now, when it wasn't worth risking her life. Sure, she'd been in a few scrapes, but this voice had been there when she'd learned her harshest lessons about trusting the wrong people.

She turned to see Derek standing just behind her. He'd aged some. He was still half a foot taller than her. His hair was still dark but it was run through with some grey - he was ten years her senior. His light skin showed the sun damage of his locale in the Caribbean. But he looked good. Well-fed but muscular. He smelled of some expensive cologne, but wasn't wearing too much of it.

Heart hammering, Chloe took a deep breath.

"Derek."

He smirked. "Walk with me." His British accent had mellowed some by a decade living in the Caribbean. His voice was still rich and deep, though.

She fell into a slow walk with him, and to anyone outside they looked like two friends meandering through the zoo, talking.

"What do you want?" she asked without preamble.

He tutted. _Tutted_. Like she was a small, naughty child. "So impatient, Chloe. I see that hasn't changed."

Biting her lip, Chloe held back her retort. Taking a deep breath, she shook her head. "Talk when you want, then. You have all the cards here."

That seemed to satisfy him. "Why did you never tell me I had a son, Chloe?"

 _Do not kill him yet. Do not kill him yet_. The mantra was needed. Max was _her_ son, not _Derek's_. "You didn't exactly give me a good reason to think you'd be a good father, Derek. Hell, the way you treated me, I could've easily miscarried and never known I was pregnant to begin with."

Derek took a moment to respond. "I suppose I can't argue with that. Though a man ought to know when he has a son."

"But not a daughter?" Chloe spat.

"What I do is a bit dangerous for a girl, don't you think?"

"But not a son?" she said, turning her words around on him.

Derek opened his mouth, then closed it, and Chloe internally rejoiced to catch him in his own hypocrisy. Unfortunately, he was only off-balance for a moment. "You're right. It's not safe for him, either. It's certainly not safe for your mother. I hope that means you'll cooperate."

Chloe fumed, but she knew not to lose her cool. "I don't appreciate threats."

"It's not a threat. It's a fact. My business dealings aren't safe."

 _Bite your tongue, bite your tongue, bite your tongue._ "Whatever."

"Don't pretend like you don't care, Chloe. These might be the only two things you care about more than making a buck."

 _Wrong,_ she thought to herself. _Nadine is now on that list, too. And it appears Derek doesn't know about her._ "Oh, I care," Chloe said. "I care very much. But it's like I said before: you hold all the cards." She eyed him from the side. "So what's your angle?"

Derek was quiet for a moment. Then, he laid out his cards. Or one of them, anyway. "I came looking for you. You're good with your hands. I was going to offer you a piece of the takeaway."

"And then stiff me again?"

Derek actually chuckled. "I can see why you'd think that, but no. I'm not desperate like I was then. I had real feelings for you, Chloe. But in the end, sharing with you would've hindered me in my goals."

"Lofty goals. Hear you're a drug runner."

Derek frowned. "You say it like I'm mud on your boots."

"That's about the size of it, yeah."

"Chloe, Chloe, Chloe…" He shook his head, then continued. "I came hoping to split the pie with you, but wouldn't you know it, every feeler I put out for you was rebuffed."

"Funny. I never heard a thing." Privately, Chloe rejoiced that her blacklist of Derek had worked, and her contacts knew she wanted nothing to do with him if he came calling.

"I figured. So I sent someone to ferret you out. Figured you still had that mother you talked about in Australia. Did a search, found a million Frazers. Took some time to narrow it down, but I found her. She had a boy with her. Suddenly wasn't sure it was your mum. Stationed someone in the building until you came back home. Nearly gave up, but then you showed up yesterday."

The internal alarms bells from the previous day suddenly made sense. "That tall bloke on the elevator?"

"Yup. That bloke. How'd you know?"

Chloe shrugged. "Something about him. Can't quite put my finger on it, but he was suspicious."

Derek made a low noise in his throat. "Well. Whatever the case, there you were. Grabbed your mum while she was out on a walk this morning, and the boy was with her so I took him for good measure. Once I saw him…"

"He does look frustratingly like you," Chloe admitted. He really did. She could see the beginnings of Derek's strong jaw and large nose in her son. But she could also see the soft brown eyes of her own father and the arch to his brow that came straight from her mother's face. In addition, many of his mannerisms came directly from her, and it was great fun to see herself reflected in his _person_ , even if she wasn't seeing a lot of herself in his physical appearance.

Derek merely grunted in agreement to her assertion that her son looked like him.

"So you didn't take him because I kept him secret?"

"No." Derek scratched at his beard. "Didn't know he was mine until I had him."

"So you want my cooperation. And no payout, now that you're blackmailing me." Chloe scowled.

"You might say that, yeah. Still need your expertise."

"And what expertise is that?" Chloe was losing her patience.

"Like I said. You're good with your hands."

Chloe finally stopped walking, glowering up at Derek. "Stop making innuendos. I'm not fucking you again."

"Like you'd say no if it got your family back," he retorted. Chloe literally bit her tongue again. He was right, but goddammit that one stung. She might be liberal with her body, but she'd never let anyone use it for their own ends and... _oh._ He was riling her up.

 _This is what he wants. Calm down, Chloe. Don't give him what he wants._ She thought for a moment. _Letting him_ _ **think**_ _he's getting what he wants is probably okay, though._

"Goddammit, I could fucking hit you in the balls right now," she bit off, feeling it was true but also knowing it was the kind of reaction he wanted.

He smirked, just like she thought he might. "Well, luckily for you, that's not the kind of cooperation I want." He made a show of looking her up and down. "You're old, Chloe. I can get fresher meat anywhere."

She couldn't muster the kind of hurt he was clearly digging for, so she merely snapped her mouth shut and started walking again. Luckily he was pretty stupid when it came to this sort of thing, so he sniggered and matched her pace, thinking himself the victor.

"So what kind of cooperation do you want?" she finally asked when he didn't continue.

"I just need you to take a look at something," Derek said.

Chloe eyed him, suspicious. "So why go to all this trouble?"

"You said it yourself. I pushed you out of a truck. You wouldn't work with me. With it being so hard to find you, I thought you'd be more likely to listen if I took the things most precious to you than if I just showed up to talk."

Chloe had to give him credit for that. He was right. She would've been more likely to kick him out a window than help him if he didn't have people she loved as hostages. And that's what they were, it seemed increasingly clear to her: hostages. But… was he interested in Max for himself? Or was it just so she'd cooperate?

"My son. He's safe?"

Derek pulled up his phone. Clicking into an app, he held up the screen. Max sat, clear as day, playing video games inside a very small room. Maybe a vehicle?

"Does he know who you are?" she asked.

Derek shook his head. He clicked around a bit more, then held the phone up again. It showed her mother, sitting in the back of a van, reading a book. She even had a comfy beanbag chair.

"Nice hippy hideaway," Chloe quipped. "What else do you do in that van?" Internally, she was pleased. If they were in a vehicle, they were probably nearby. And by saying those words out loud, Nadine would have heard them.

Derek chuckled. "They're safe and comfortable. Will you cooperate?"

"You still haven't told me what you want from me, specifically. Say you're wrong and I'm no better at whatever it is than you are?"

Derek's face clouded. "You better hope that's not true. I've been waiting a long time, and no one else can solve this thing."

Chloe sighed. It seemed she had little choice but to agree to work for him. _Goddammit_.

 _{Chloe, he's got you surrounded by his guys,}_ came Nadine's voice quietly in her ear. _{He's herding you to isolation. Steer yourself into the crowd.}_

"I'm thirsty," Chloe said abruptly, turning and heading for the nearest snack cart. "Want something?"

Derek looked perturbed as he shook his head. She bought a Sprite and cracked it open, actually enjoying the drink before taking off in a seemingly random direction - _toward_ people. His frown deepened, and Chloe's heart skipped a beat. _Shit, she was right. And I almost fell for it_. She needed to get herself out of this. But first… she needed to know what he was after.

"So, you were gonna tell me what you needed my help with," she prompted.

"Now, Chloe. I'm not a complete idiot. You'll find out when we get there." His fingers brushed her elbow.

Nadine's voice suddenly hissed in her ear, _{Chloe, I found the van! Get out of there! Lose him and wait for my instructions, I'll get them free.}_

"Fat chance!" Chloe immediately shouted, and then she was gone, weaving and dodging through the crowd.

"No! Dammit!" she heard Derek shout. She looked behind her just long enough to see him trying to make his way through the crowd, too, but he was always more of a bruiser, never light on his feet. She sped off as he was waylaid. Her last glimpse of him had him speaking into a radio of some kind.

"Not so fast!" a man shouted, and Chloe rolled under a pair of arms. Up she popped, and then she was running once more.

 _{Chloe, I've got them. They were great. Max popped one of the guards with a game controller and everything! Definitely your son. Meet us in the reptile exhibit.}_

"Right you are!" she shouted to no one in particular, knowing Nadine would hear it. She changed direction, not knowing where the bloody hell she was. She'd have to lose these assholes, maybe ditch the vest, then she could blend back into the crowd and find a map of the zoo.


	6. Chapter 6

"Where is she?"

"Your mother will be here soon, Max."

Nadine watched the two speaking. Breaking them out of the van had been easy. Laughably easy. She suspected at first that Derek might have something up his sleeve, so she kept her guard up. But so far nothing had happened. She now stood slightly apart from the boy and his grandmother, watching the entire enclosed exhibit.

It wasn't ideal. They could easily be surrounded. But she at least _see_ the directions from which danger could strike. Out in the open, they could be approached from _every_ direction, and she was only one person.

 _At least I didn't let any of those bastards see my face_ , she thought, remembering how she left the one man who might have seen her face in no state to identify her. After Max hit the other fool over the head hard enough to _break_ the controller, she had finished the job, knocking him unconscious. Out in the jungle she wouldn't have left these men with their lives, but in the middle of Sydney - and in front of an eleven year old boy - she didn't dare do more than knock them out as thoroughly as possible.

They waited ten minutes before Chloe slinked in to the exhibit. Nadine didn't recognize her until she was right on top of her. She wore some kind of scarf over her head, and she'd ditched the bright blue fleece she'd been wearing. It was a more than decent transformation. If Nadine didn't recognize her until they were up close, then Derek's men shouldn't recognize Chloe at all.

"Where's your gun?" Nadine hissed by way of greeting. She didn't dare hug the woman yet, but the relief she experienced at seeing her safe was nearly tangible.

"In the boot," Chloe whispered back. Her eyes flicked to Max. "They're good?"

"Yeah. They're good. What now?"

"You're not gonna like it," Chloe warned.

"I can take it."

"They don't know what you look like. I'm the one he wanted, Max and Mum were just leverage. Get them out. Get them safe. I'm going with Derek to see what started this bullshit."

Nadine's heart skipped. After a moment of frowning into Chloe's face, she finally nodded. "Makes sense. I don't like it, but I don't have anything better."

Chloe looked nothing but relieved.

Nadine held up her hand, pointing into Chloe's face in a way she knew Chloe usually hated. But she needed her attention. "I'm coming after you. Do you hear me? I'm keeping them safe, but once they're secure, _I'm coming after you_. I didn't come all this way just to lose you to some bullshit _ex_."

Chloe grinned. "I'll keep the earpiece on. Find me."

She swooped in for a quick kiss, and then was gone. Nadine watched her hug her mother, then pick Max up for a moment, and then she was exiting the exhibit. They would only be able to talk to each other until the ear piece was out of range. Then Nadine would be able to track its location only.

"I love you," she said, almost to herself.

{ _I love you, too_ ,} Chloe whispered back.

 _I'm gone_ , Nadine thought to herself. _Too far gone to walk away. I promised myself never to get to here_. Then she turned off the mic and headed toward Max and his grandmother. _Too late now._

"Mrs. Frazer," she started, but the woman interrupted her.

"Young woman, you just saved my grandson and myself from abduction. I think we can be on a first name basis. Call me Elizabeth."

Nadine paused, gathered her proverbial feet under her, and nodded. "All right. Elizabeth. We need to disguise the two of you in order to leave. They'll have men at the exits. We came _in_ because they were watching the exits, not the entrance."

"And because we needed to get to Mum!" Max added.

Nadine nodded. "Right you are. Smart lad."

He beamed at the praise.

"The gift shop will have outerwear for sale," Elizabeth said. "Sweatshirts and hats. It's all ridiculously expensive, but…"

"Not a concern right now," Nadine said. "Come on. Let's go. You know the way without a map?"

"Yes, we go here all the time," Max said. He ran out in front to be by Elizabeth, but Nadine pulled him back by the shoulder. "Hey, let go!"

"They're looking for your face, Max. Do you think they expect it next to mine? Or next to your grandmother's?"

He thought for a moment, then nodded, and fell into step beside her. He even looped his arm through hers, and she tried to settle into the touch like it was comfortable and familiar and not completely alien.

"I'll lead the way a few meters ahead, shall I?" Elizabeth said, a small smile on her face. "They'll also not expect me to be alone."

Nadine nodded and, Max on her arm, followed Elizabeth Frazer at a distance.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Max asked later. They all wore garish sweatshirts from the gift shop, a baseball cap on the Frazers for good measure (Nadine's curls would _not_ be contained by a mere baseball cap). They had made it through the exit without a problem, and now walked down the street, leaving the pedestrian entrance and exit to the zoo behind them.

"I know a safe house," Nadine said, her eyes darting in all directions. It was taking everything inside her not to hurry, not to run. She had lost any sound from Chloe several minutes earlier.

"A safe house? Like in _Left 4 Dead_?" Max asked, excited.

Nadine's attentioned was pulled from her surveillance for a moment. " _Left For Dead_? What's that?"

"It's a really great game!" Max exclaimed. "You kill zombies and make your way through the countryside. The safehouse is barricaded against the zombies. You rest there and reload your gun and the zombies can't get you."

Nadine couldn't help but to chuckle. "Not quite. This is safe because it's _secret_ , not because it's barricaded."

"Oh. So like a spy thing. I get it." He smiled, seeming pleased with himself.

"So… where _are_ we going?" Elizabeth asked for a moment. Max was thankfully no longer clinging to Nadine. Having a child - or anyone - touching her so familiarly had been strange, to say the least.

"The sewers," Nadine said.

"The sewers?!"

"Yes. I know how to get to the start, and what clues to look for. I couldn't tell you precisely where it is on a map."

Elizabeth nodded, and was quiet for a moment. It didn't take long for her face to screw up and the question to come out of her mouth, however. "How would you _know_ about a safehouse? Isn't that blackmarket crime stuff?"

Nadine nearly missed a step. _She doesn't know what Chloe does?!_

Max saved her. "She obviously does something we don't know about, Grandmum! If we were kidnapped so they could blackmail Mum, and she and Nadine work together!"

"I suppose you have a point," Elizabeth said, shaking her head. "Fine. I don't need the details. I'm just glad Max is safe. I… I wish the same could be said for my daughter…"

Nadine stopped, taking Elizabeth's arm lightly to stop her. "Chloe can handle herself, Elizabeth. She's been through… far more dangerous. That said, I intend to go after her. But first, I need to get you and Max to a safe and _secure_ spot."

The baseball cap bobbed in the sunlight. "All right." Then they were walking once more.

All was quiet until Nadine recognized the place her contact had spoken of: a nondescript bridge. Four buildings down there was a bright red door.

When she'd called in the favor, she also asked for a safe place to hide in the city, knowing they could not return to Chloe's condominium. He told her of an old fallout shelter the government didn't know about. It had been blocked off to the house that claimed it by a new owner who didn't know about it, but the tunnel leading out to the sewers had still been intact. It wasn't marked on the city plans, so it was rarely discovered, and Nadine's contact had taken great pains over the years to hide its entrance from the sewers so only those who knew what to look for found it. And then you still had to know him to gain entrance.

Crossing the street, Nadine looked around briefly, then started down the stone steps leading down to the water from the bridge they were on. Max and Elizabeth followed without complaint.

At the bottom, Nadine saw the tunnel entrance. Water flowed out several inches deep - Max's trainers would be soaked, as well as Elizabeth's flats, but her own combat boots would serve her well. Tucking her phone in her bra just in case, she stepped into the tunnel.

Elizabeth was clearly skeptical. "We're to wade in it?"

Nadine shook her head. "This is the storm drain system, not the sewage. This is about as deep as it will get, and it doesn't smell. Plus we can shower where we're going." _And thank God. The last time I showered was in New York City._

Max moved around his grandmother and plopped in next to her.

"Seriously?" Elizabeth continued.

Nadine sighed. "We need to hurry, or someone will _see_."

That seemed to be enough. Elizabeth looked around quickly, stepped into the water, which immediately soaked her up to the ankle, and motioned Nadine to lead the way.

Taking a deep breath, Nadine plunged on.

* * *

The sewers were dark, but spacious, lit easily by the flashlight on her phone. Max explained it was to accommodate the flash-flooding the city sometimes received. They weren't as bad as in the Outback, but bad enough to need to accommodate a large volume of water suddenly a few times a year so the city didn't flood.

Nadine smiled at his facts. Chloe would most certainly tell her that she was the same. But Chloe seemed to find it endearing, and Nadine was sure she was looking at the reason why.

They walked for many minutes. An entire half-hour in the dark and dank. It didn't smell like sewage down here, but neither did it smell fresh anymore. It smelled of must and algae, but at least they could be reasonably sure they trudged through water dirtied by actual _dirt_ rather than raw sewage.

Nadine had had to do that once. It was most assuredly _not_ a fun time.

She kept seeing the things she'd been told of, though. Words, seemingly graffiti, painted on the wall in some indelible material, counting down to the entrance from fifty in French. Twenty paces from the last word to be painted, _zed_ , she found a tightly sealed door. Producing the key from her belt, Nadine turned the lock, and…

"It worked!" Max whispered excitedly.

Nadine grinned. "Ja. It did." She pushed it fully open, ushered them all through, and then locked it behind them. Putting the key away, she turned and took in her companions. The ground, at least, was dry now, the door being water-tight. "Let's go," she said, and moved past them both, leading the way down the narrow man-made tunnel to their hideaway.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Thank you for being patient with me. This has been complete but ROUGH and unedited for a week, but life and work got so busy I just did not have the brain power to edit it when I had the time._

 _Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, and Happy New Year to everyone!_

* * *

Chloe watched the light on the lock of the hotel door turn green, and then it swung open. In walked a very grumpy Derek.

She lifted her gun, training it on him.

"Hello, Derek."

He looked up and froze. "Chloe." To his credit, his expression was neutral.

She kept her weapon trained on him. "Close the door," she instructed, and he complied. His eyes drifted to the bouncer-type guy Chloe had left in a heap off to one side.

"Is he…?"

"He's not dead," Chloe said, and Derek grunted. _Troglodyte_ , she thought to herself. Out loud, she said, "You really ought to train them better. He led me right here, opened the door, and then gave me good target practice. I am now reassured I know just where to hit with the butt of this to crumple a man twice my size."

"I'll take that under advisement," Derek said. He watched Chloe for a moment, then spoke. "Care to tell me what you're thinking?"

Chloe sat forward, her gun still pointing at his face. "I'm _thinking_ of painting the walls behind you red for kidnapping my _son_." She waited a moment for dramatic effect before adding, "But since then I'd never figure out what all this is _really_ about, I won't do that."

He seemed to sag a tiny bit with relief. _Really, how is he an effective drug lord? No poker face whatsoever._

"So what now, then?"

Chloe lifted her gun to point at the ceiling. "A truce."

"A truce?"

"Yes. You take me with you to whatever this _thing_ is you need my help with. I take my gun and phone. Full autonomy. No more leverage."

Derek spit out a laugh. "You think it's equal just you and your gun and all of _us_?"

Chloe smiled sweetly. "Oh right. I forgot to mention. No henchmen. Just you and me." She pulled her smile even sweeter. "You know. Like the old days."

His face remained still, but his eyes took on a look of terror at the prospect. Chloe lowered her gun and aimed it at him once more. "Or I can take you out right here and now and be done with it."

"They'd find you," he blurted.

Chloe smirked. "I'll take my chances." _And now I know it's not really_ _ **him**_ _who wants me._ She began to squeeze the trigger.

"Wait!"

Chloe stopped squeezing. "Yes?"

"Just. Promise me you won't knife me in my sleep or…"

"Or push you out of a moving truck while 2 months pregnant?"

He shut his gaping face hole.

Chloe rolled her eyes, lowered her gun, and stood up. "So we have an agreement? Just you and me?"

"Yeah, yeah, all right. Just the two of us."

Chloe grinned. "Well all right, then. Lead the way."

"We're leaving now?"

"Yes. Call off your men and let's get going to this big secret you won't tell me about."

He sighed, turned, and got on his phone. Chloe sat back down, then reached for the room service menu. Maybe she'd order something before they left.

She hoped Nadine, Max, and her mum were doing all right.

* * *

"It's… small," Max finally announced.

"It's perfect," Nadine countered, moving around him and into the room. It was actually a large room, but it had a low ceiling, and was _only_ one room. With her cellphone's flashlight, she saw that one corner had a small kitchenette, one corner was walled off - likely the bathroom, added after the original space was made - and one corner had a bunk bed. In the middle of the room was a sofa on which a third person could sleep, and the last corner held a table with a transistor radio that would do absolutely no good this far underground. _Must be a relic_ , she thought.

"We don't have service down here!" Max flung himself on the sofa. "What will we do?"

Nadine sighed. "You'll just have to figure it out," she said, then went to the kitchenette. Opening a cupboard, she saw that there wasn't much food, but what there was hadn't yet expired. A microwave sat on the countertop, but that was it as far as what might be used to cook. It also seemed to be the only electric component in the room. _Must be leeching power from someone else. Leech too much, and they're sure to notice_.

"Slim pickings," Elizabeth mused. Her fingers drifted lightly over the labels of each of the cans of food. "Are you hungry, Max?"

"Yeah," he answered, looking up from his phone. He'd apparently figured out his games still worked. "What is there?"

Nadine pulled out a can of beans and one of peaches. "A balanced meal," she joked.

"And a lantern," Elizabeth commented, pointing. Indeed, behind the cans Nadine had just pulled free sat a propane lantern and a box of matches. Nadine took it down, checked that the little propane tank was full, and had it lit in minutes. It was bright to look at, so she moved it to the table, away from where Elizabeth now worked warming food in the microwave, and put the shutter halfway up.

"There," she said, turning off the flashlight on her phone. "Now at least we won't have to use our batteries for light."

"Are we able to recharge our phones?" Max asked. He sat on the sofa still, but when the microwave beeped, he got up to get his food from his grandmother.

"I have one charger," Nadine said. "In a bag in an alley that isn't anywhere near here."

Max's face fell.

Nadine shook her head. "Don't worry. I'll leave in a little while and get it. I'll also get a few essentials once we've had a chance to take stock down here."

"Oh." His face fell, then immediately brightened. "Can I come?!"

Nadine bit back an irritated response. He was a child. This was the name of the game. "Sorry, no. They know your face. You can't be seen."

"But you can?"

Again, Nadine stopped herself from snapping. "As far as we can tell, Derek knows nothing about me. Bad form, going into this without doing his research…"

"Who's Derek?"

Nadine froze. He… he didn't know. Max didn't know why all this was happening in a way that involved him. He didn't…

"He's the man trying to use us to blackmail your mother," Elizabeth said, throwing Nadine a smile and a nod. Nadine let out her breath. She had not been prepared to introduce this boy she barely knew to the concept of such a man for a father. Especially since his incessant questions were beginning to grate on her nerves.

"Oh." Max took his food to the sofa. He seemed less than enthused by the bowl of warmed beans, but he ate them regardless. _The hunger of a growing boy must be everything it's cracked up to be_ , Nadine thought. Sure, she ate MREs, but even _she_ would only eat canned beans if she had no other choice.

Nadine made a beeline for the bathroom and a shower. The water took a while to get hot, but she spent the time stripping down and searching through the medicine cabinet. She was astonished to find some coconut oil that she could put in her hair, meaning she could give her hair and scalp a solid scrub, something it was due for.

As she stepped in to the water, her mind drifted to Chloe. What was she doing? Was she all right? Nadine would only be able to check on the other woman's location when above ground. After her shower, she could go retrieve the items they had left in that alley, and then perhaps even make a quick trip to the condo. Could she risk it? It was likely being watched… _I'm going to kill that bastard, ruining this thing just as it got up off the ground_.

Nadine sighed. Mostly, she was worried. Worrying made her want to break someone's leg. And then she felt strange thinking of such violence with a child in the room. And not just any child, but the son of her lover. Girlfriend. _Ugh, all of those are terrible._ The son of _Chloe_.

Chloe, who willingly walked into danger to keep them all safe. Nadine huffed. She would just have to be the one to keep _Chloe_ safe. And that meant, first and foremost, keeping Chloe's _family_ safe. What could she do to ensure their safety?

She needed to get them out of the country.

After her shower she unfortunately had to put on her dirty clothing, having no change available. _More clothes. More food, more clothes, a power cord for our phones._ Nadine sighed. _And a more permanent place to hide these two._

She left the bathroom to find Elizabeth sitting at the table, fiddling with the transistor radio.

"Did you get that old thing to _work_?" Nadine asked.

Elizabeth looked up. "The occasional sound comes out, but nothing that makes sense. Mostly static. I wonder why it's here?"

Nadine shrugged. "Who knows?" Likely, her contact kept it here for decoration. Though it having power made her think that perhaps it was more than that. Whatever the reason, it wasn't for her to know.

"So, care to tell me all the details?"

Nadine's head snapped back to Elizabeth. "What?"

The woman gave her a patient look. "Max fell asleep. I know why you're keeping the details from him, but I'm no child. Tell me what's going on." It was no longer a question.

Nadine studied her for a moment, then nodded. She sat. "All right. Where should I start?"

"How exactly do you know my daughter? And who _is_ this man who kidnapped us?"

Nadine took a deep breath, then began. "A year ago, Chloe contacted me for a job in India. We didn't know each other, but I had a lead on the man who had a relic she needed." She caught Elizabeth's eyes. "We... found the place her father had been searching for. We found the Tusk of Ganesh."

Elizabeth's eyes widened dramatically. Her voice came out in a choked whisper. "You… you found it?"

Nadine nodded. "Yes. And we discovered her father had made it, too."

Silence. Then, "I always knew he would. She… she's an archaeologist? Like her father?"

"No," Nadine said, trying not to cringe. "She's a… well, a treasure-hunter. Sh- _we_ do it for money. I'm her business partner."

"I see. This would be how you grew to be… close."

Nadine nodded. This was _far_ more awkward than she had ever hoped to be in her life.

After a minute or two of silent thought, Elizabeth spoke again. "So who is this Derek?"

Nadine pursed her lips a moment before answering. "Chloe worked with him on one of her first jobs. I don't know all the details, but he betrayed her in the end. And left her with an unplanned…" She flicked her eyes to Max, sleeping softly on the bottom bunk and leaving her sentence unfinished.

"And she didn't tell him about Max?"

"No," Nadine said, shaking her head. "He nearly killed her. She wasn't going to endanger Max."

Elizabeth closed her eyes and breathed sharply through her nose, and Nadine realized she was perhaps speaking a bit too candidly about Chloe nearly being killed. Growing up with a mercenary commander for a father hadn't really taught her how to be anything but perfectly blunt. _Chloe's the one who's gifted with words, dammit. Not me._

"How did he find out about Max?" Elizabeth finally asked.

"He… he came looking for Chloe; we don't know why. That's what Chloe went to find out."

"So when he found out about him, instead of warm feelings of fatherhood, he kidnapped him to manipulate Chloe into complying with his plans." It was a statement, not a question, but Nadine nodded regardless. Elizabeth let out a breath before continuing. "What a bastard. No wonder Chloe kept Max to herself."

Nadine let out a small laugh, almost against her will, and shook her head. After a moment, she found her feet. "I'm going to get some supplies. Can you think of anything you want?"

"A deck of cards would be nice," Elizabeth said. "And a change of clothes if possible?"

Nadine nodded.

"And, Nadine?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you. For telling me. We just met, and this is all a lot to take in, and it must be even stranger for you. So thank you for being so candid with me."

Nadine said, "Of course," then gathered her things. She made a list the items she needed, got Elizabeth and Max's dress size, and made her way out into the falling twilight.


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: It's been a while. Sorry. Life and stuff, as usual. Happy New Year to everyone! I'm excited about picking this up, so let's see how long that lasts!_

* * *

Nadine frowned. The GPS tracker had Chloe in the middle of the ocean. _That can't be right… She must be traveling._

She closed her phone and looked up at the night sky. Where were they going? How could she find out? She frowned again. She hated asking him… but she was out of options. She'd called in her last favor for the safe house and equipment.

Selecting the contact in her phone, she lifted it to her ear and listened as it rang. Just as the fourth ring sounded, the other end picked up.

 _{What is it?}_

"You know I don't like you either, Drake."

Sam Drake sighed. _{Fuck, all right. It's late, okay? What do you need? Something wrong with Chloe?}_

"Something like that." Nadine grimaced as she said the next part. "I need your help."

 _{What? Say that again?}_

Nadine did not bother responding. It didn't stop Sam.

 _{Ho ho! Nadine Ross needs my help?! I need to document the date and time. I never thought I'd live to see the day!}_

Nadine actually rolled her eyes before continuing like he was _not_ carrying on as he was. "Listen, Drake. I need to go help her. But I have… a payload. I need it kept safe."

 _{And you can't keep it safe while you're off pulling Chloe's ass out of the fire. I get it.}_ She had to hand it to him: he was all business after his little gloat.

"So will you help me or not?"

There was a pause on the other end before she had her answer. _{Yeah, okay. What do you need me to do?}_

Nadine breathed a silent sigh of relief. She really didn't know what she would've done if Sam hadn't said yes. The thought made her uncomfortable, so she pushed it aside. "Thanks. First thing/s first, I need you to find which flights might be at 105E by 15S, give or take, within the last fifteen minutes or so."

 _{Which flights?}_

"Yes. Which flights. Where they're going, having left Sydney. I'll have more info later, but her position is moving. That's all I know."

 _{And the flights will give you a way to pin it down. Gotcha. So what-}_

"I need you here in Sydney ASAP. Where are you?"

Sam made a sleepy groan. _{God, you don't quit. I'm in Hawaii.}_

Nadine raised her brows. "Hawaii? Good partying there?"

 _{Something like that.}_

Arse, echoing her earlier answer like that. It was some shady job or something. She had no choice, though. She couldn't leave Elizabeth and Max alone here.

An idea struck her. "What's Sully up to?"

 _{He's here… with me… why?}_

"Bring him. Earliest flight, Sam. Hurry." She hung up. Sully would at least understand keeping Max and Elizabeth safe. She didn't like him, but she knew him well enough to know that. He might even enjoy keeping them entertained.

Setting off, Nadine went to a department store first, buying the clothes she needed, as well as a new rucksack. Then she bought as much dehydrated and shelf-stable food as she could fit in the rucksack; they could boil water in the kettle there and reconstitute the hiking rations. Last, she went by the condo.

The building was quiet. Maybe Derek had called his men off now that he had Chloe? She had Chloe's key. Maybe she could just… walk in? She couldn't climb in, not even at night. Modern cities made that sort of thing nearly impossible. _Someone_ would notice.

Sighing, Nadine hoisted the rucksack higher on her shoulder and entered the building.

Inside was quiet. The doorman wasn't at his post. Was he there at night? So much Nadine didn't know. Foregoing the elevator, Nadine moved to the stairs, hoofing it up the many flights. By the time she reached the top, she was breathing hard, so she took a moment to catch her breath.

She pushed the door open just a bit. The hall was clear. She didn't trust it, but had no other choice, so she pushed the door open all the way and stepped cautiously into the hall.

No death or dismemberment. _Already better than India_ , she thought. She hurried to the condo's door.

Now something really wasn't right. The doorknob was warm when she touched it. Furrowing her brow, she took stock. What could make the knob warm? Nobody should have been here since she and Chloe left that morning. It should be cold.

Wrapping her hand in her shirt, Nadine tried the knob. It was unlocked, and the door began to open. Giving it a shove, Nadine stepped back.

A bullet tore its way through the door. Nadine took cover, pressing herself against the wall.

"The fuck?!" a voice shouted.

Nadine crouched just as a man's head popped out of the door. Before he had a chance to see her, she popped up, using her body's momentum to catch the man's chin with the heel of her hand. He went sprawling to the ground, and Nadine followed, kicking him near the temple with a steel-toed boot. He would not be waking up anytime soon.

Staying crouched by the man's side, Nadine looked around. The entryway was untouched, but Nadine could see the sensor the man had attached to the knob, telling him he should be ready to fire. Removing it, she closed the door. She could do nothing for the bullet hole, but she made sure to keep her fingerprints to herself. Her hair would be all over the apartment from the night before. Nothing she could do for that, so she didn't try to keep more from falling.

Kicking away the thug's silenced pistol so he could not grab it without her seeing, Nadine continued into the living room, wary, her own sidearm at the ready. But no one else was in the apartment. Apparently, the one gentleman was all Derek thought of Elizabeth and Max.

Nadine had their passports in hand within minutes, just in case they needed to leave the country in a hurry. She grabbed up her bag she'd had packed from New York and fled the condo, leaving the door open this time. She _wanted_ the unconscious man to be found, his pistol there, incriminating him.

The doorman was back when she reached the lobby. "We're leaving for an extended vacation," she announced after he greeted her. "Check that nothing is amiss, will you?"

She was outside again as quickly as possible, heading back to the safe house where she'd left Max and Elizabeth. It was only a few miles, and Nadine had a very good sense of direction after visiting so many unknown places with Chloe, but even still, she checked the map on her phone more than once to make sure she knew where she was going.

Finally, she was at the water. Checking quickly to make sure she wasn't followed, she slung her things over her shoulders and ran down the stairs. A slight noise caught her attention. It could have been a road noise. Indeed, that's likely what it was. But after that thug waiting for her in Chloe's flat, she wasn't taking any chances. Sinking into some shadows behind a pillar as far as she could go, she waited.

It took a minute or two, but finally she heard the sound again: a shuffle, like a soft foot on stone. Tensing, readying her sidearm, Nadine waited.

A cat. It was a cat. Releasing her breath, Nadine rolled her eyes. _Chloe would never let me live that one down._ Giving it another minute to be sure, Nadine popped her head out, saw no one there, and continued her way down to the open storm drain.

* * *

"Oh great, I'm starving!"

Nadine silently thanked God she'd be away from Max soon. She never did like children much, but this age was the worst: a miniature human who thought he was an adult because he'd be shaving soon, but very much was not yet. She didn't wish him harm. She didn't wish Chloe didn't have a son, though she acknowledged that would've made this whole goddamn thing easier. She just didn't know him, so he was a generic Child She Didn't Like.

She needed to get Chloe back. Then she could work on turning him into Annoying Child Of Her Girlfriend. She'd be able to stand that better. Eventually.

 _When did I become accustomed to calling Chloe my girlfriend?_

Nadine placed the rucksack on the table, opening it and taking out some of the food. Elizabeth came to take over the job wordlessly, and Nadine was grateful. She tossed Max some clothes. "Why don't you shower and change?" she suggested. "I got you some waterproof boots, too, in case you need to go out in the tunnel again. It's no fun running from anyone in wet shoes. Trust me."

He nodded and went to the bathroom, inexplicably excited. Nadine turned to Elizabeth next. "I got the same for you," she said.

Elizabeth nodded. "I hope we won't need them, but I appreciate it." She stood back from the table, looking up at nothing for a moment. Nadine recognized an overwhelmed person.

"Elizabeth…"

"Is this what it's like for you and Chloe?"

"How is it?"

"This… worrying for everything while taking care of the most mundane things like showering and your next meal?"

Nadine tried not to chuckle. If Chloe were here, they both would have. Of _course_ it was like that, on some shady job where you're not sure it's worth the payout the entire time. Until you get the payout and can afford a week in Mexico, fucking and drinking and eating the best food you've ever tasted. Then you return to your Johannesburg flat and your normal life, and you wonder how just two weeks before you weren't sure if you were going to survive, if the rope was going to hold, if you'd be able to hold on to that cliff face long enough to make it to the top.

She voiced none of this, however. She wasn't a mother, and her living parent was not one to be worried by such things. But even still she knew that was far too much to tell this grandmother.

"It's a lot, I know," Nadine said instead. "Usually you two are safe and sound, tucked away here while we're out risking ourselves. Until yesterday I thought Chloe only risked herself for _you_. It still smarts, though I understand her keeping Max from me until she was completely sure she could trust me. The stakes have gotten a lot higher-"

"You're really not good at this sort of thing, are you?" Elizabeth interrupted.

"BUT," Nadine continued, a small smile pulling at her lips. Elizabeth was right, of course. She wasn't good at this sort of thing at _all_. "The best thing you can do is to take sleep and food and a shower while you can. Revel in the basic comforts, and thank God we haven't been trudging through a tropical river and now have to check for leeches."

Elizabeth inhaled deeply, exhaled, and nodded. "You'll get her back to me?"

"I will do everything in my power to get Chloe back."

"Right. Then my job is to take care of Max." Elizabeth picked up a packet of food. "You boil water and add it?"

"Ja."

"Good. I'll have something ready when he's done." She rolled her eyes. "Those boots mean he thinks he gets to come, you know."

Nadine chuckled. "I'll leave it to you to rid him of that notion."

"So… what next? I know you need to leave, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable being left here alone with Max."

"I've called in help. I'll go meet him at the airport after we have some sleep. He texted just before I lost service when his flight would arrive."

"Oh!" Elizabeth said, stilling Nadine with a hand on her forearm. "I wanted to mention. Max figured out why that transistor radio is here. It's been modified and picks up a signal from a cell phone tower up above."

"Oh that's brilliant!" Nadine pulled out her phone. As she did so, a new message popped up:

 _{India}_

"Fuck."

Elizabeth looked over her shoulder. "Is that where Chloe is?"

"It's where she's headed. I don't know if she'll stay there, but it's where her flight is headed _now_." She swore again. "I hate India."

"Bad memories there?"

Nadine nodded. Not all of them were bad, of course. But Asav and almost dying and losing the rest of Shoreline and shooting Orca in his stupid fucking face… "It wasn't all a complete shit-show, but it certainly wasn't a holiday, either."

"Fair enough. Get some rest; I'll prepare a meal. Then we can all try to get some sleep."

Nodding, Nadine took the advice, kicking off her boots and sitting down on the couch. She shot off a reply to Sam, then rested her head on the couc behind her. Within minutes she was dozing, waking only once Elizabeth called that food was ready.


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: So it's been... a while. Ten months? I didn't mean to go this long, and then I joined twitter and got sucked right into the Wynonna Earp fandom. But I recently revisited this, fell in love all over, and found this chapter halfway done. So I'm going to post it. No promises I'll continue posting. And I'm horribly leaving you on a cliffhanger. But. Hey. It's more content, and that's always great. Right?_

 _Right._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

Nadine was up before the sun, taking a cab back to the airport. A heaping helping of coffee in her hand, she waited by the baggage claim. It was all she could do to keep from tapping her foot.

Finally, a wash of people came her way, and there, among them, were the familiar faces of Sam and Sully. She couldn't help a feeling of relief. She just had to get these two into the safe house, and she would be able to go after Chloe. Her GPS tracking confirmed Chloe's landing in New Delhi, and she had a flight scheduled for later that afternoon. She would be the twelve hour flight behind Chloe, plus the eight hours it between Chloe landing and Nadine taking off. She didn't want to stretch it any further.

Sam was speaking the moment he was close enough to be heard. "You look good. Happy." He paused and frowned. "It's scary. Stop it."

"I'm not happy. I'm determined."

Sully just laughed. "Come on, you two. Let's get this payload and get outta here."

Nadine pursed her lips. "It's not your typical payload."

Sully's eyebrows tried to become part of his receding hairline. "Oh?"

"I'll explain when we get there." They were out on the sidewalk now, and she turned to hail a circling cab. As it pulled up, she turned back to them. "Just… try not to draw attention to yourselves, all right?"

"All right, all right." Sam opened the door. "Man, you really know how to draw out the suspense, you know that Nadine?"

Smirking, Nadine just got in. Her smile disappeared when the men boxed her into the back seat of the car.

* * *

"A bridge." Sam looked back up at Nadine. "You had him drop us off at a random corner and walked us to a _bridge_."

Nadine rolled her eyes and brushed past him, not bothering to avoid shoulder-checking him in the process. She heard Sully's chuckle as she began to descend the steps.

"Make sure no one's following," she shot over her shoulder, before directing her attention ahead.

Finding no trouble, they entered the giant storm drain.

Sam ssaid, "What the hell is this? Nadine, you gotta tell us what's going on?!"

Nadine rolled her eyes. "In a minute."

"This is crazy! We came to _Australia_ for _you_ because you _told us to!_ Give me something to work with!"

Nadine shined her flashlight into every nook and cranny she could find. "My understanding is you came to Australia for Chloe."

"I- Well yeah but-"

"Or perhaps it was for the money?"

"I mean… that wasn't _all_ of it."

Nadine smirked. "Good." She put her key into the door, opening it. "Because the payload isn't what you think it is."

"I uh… come again?"

"You'll see," she said, and then kept quiet until they were at the door at the end of the tunnel.

"Nadine, I do think it's fair to ask what's going on," Sullivan started, but grew quiet as Nadine moved out of the doorway.

Inside, Elizabeth and Max sat at the table, clearly in the middle of a card game, though they looked up owlishly when the door opened.

"Elizabeth, Max," she said in greeting. "These are… friends. Of Chloe's," she clarified, unable to bring herself to claim them for herself. Despite everything. "Sam, and Sully."

"Hello," Elizabeth said, getting to her feet.

Nadine looked back at a very confused Sam and Sully. "Boys, this is the payload." She paused, eyeing Sully meaningfully. "This is Chloe's family."

Sam didn't seem to get it. But Sully did. He put on his best smile, stepped forward with a hand out, and said, "Victor Sullivan. You must be Chloe's sister?"

Elizabeth chuckled as she shook his hand. "Really? That's hardly original. You _know_ I'm her mother."

His grin just grew bigger.

Sam stood with his hand rubbing his chin. "So then that makes the kid…"

"Chloe's my mum," Max said, cocking his head to the side as he regarded Sam.

"Nadine… I…"

Nadine grabbed him by the collar, pulling him around so she could look him directly in the eyes. "I need you to keep them safe, Drake. Chloe's mother. Chloe's _son_. I need them safe, so I can keep _Chloe_ safe. Can you do that? For Chloe?"

He met her eyes. She wasn't sure what she saw there, but finally, after a moment that seemed to stretch out into eternity, he nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, we can keep them safe."

Nadine let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding, her heart suddenly beating furiously. She nodded. "All right." Sighing, she looked to Max, then to Elizabeth. "I have a plane to catch."

"That's it?!" Max looked immediately angry. "You're just going to leave us here? With _strangers_?!"

"Max," Elizabeth started, but Nadine held up her hand.

"What would you have me do, Max?"

"I…" Max got up from his seat. "Take me with you."

Nadine fixed him with a stare. "You want to come?"

"I want to help save my _mother_!" he said hotly.

To Nadine's surprise, it was Sam who spoke next. "You don't wanna go with her, kid."

Max turned a death glare upon Sam.

The man just shook his head. "Look, I get it. I was raised on the streets, kid. Knew how to use a gun before I was technically an adult. Throwing myself from rooftop to rooftop and stealing what I needed. Nadine is similar. Raised by a mercenary, around his men as a kid." Sam gestured to Max with his chin. "What do you got on us?"

Max looked incredibly uncertain.

"You know how to handle a gun, kid?"

The uncertainty increased.

Sam smiled. "Look, it's _good_ that you don't know how to handle yourself in all that. You're a kid. A boy. You'll be a man soon, but you should be a kid while you're a kid. Play games, read books, swing a baseball bat. Let the adults to the adult things, and then when you're old enough, you can take down the bad guys. 'Cuz these are _bad guys_ , kid."

Max tried one more time. "You don't even know what they did!"

"You're right," Sam said, his voice getting a little high. "Nadine hasn't filled me in yet. But she doesn't need to. Someone took Chloe. Nadine's going to get her back. What I _do_ know is _Nadine can do it_. Look at her. She's tough. She can do anything." He looked up, throwing Nadine a quick wink.

Nadine scowled.

Max wasn't quite convinced. "They didn't hurt us when they had us in the van."

Nadine crossed her arms. "They needed you alive to get Chloe to cooperate. Do you think she would've gone along if they'd hurt you or your grandmother, Max?"

He thought for a minute. "I… I guess not…"

"You did _really_ well in that van, Max," Elizabeth said, and Nadine suddenly saw what she was going to do, and she silently praised the woman as a genius. "You got us out and away. But Nadine is a professional. We need to let professionals take care of their specialties." She held out her hands. "You did your part, though. We wouldn't be this far without you, Max. We would still be in that van, and instead we're _safe_."

Max bit his lip, turned, and threw himself onto the couch.

"We'll get no more words out of him on this, I'm afraid," Elizabeth murmured.

"Eh, he'll be fine," Sam said, moving into the room proper. "Is there somewhere to smoke?"

"I'm afraid not."

"That's all right. I can smoke out in the sewer."

"Storm drain," Max piped up, not looking at them.

Sam smirked. "My apologies. Storm drain. I can smoke out there. We got any food?"

Nadine rolled her eyes. "I'll leave you to it?"

Elizabeth nodded. "I'll fill them in the rest of the way. I assume you brought them because they can be trusted?"

Nadine pursed her lips. "As loathe as I am to admit it, yes. Chloe, especially, trusts them both with her life."

"Go on, Nadine," Sully said, moving to the table. "Ms. Frazer and I will trade some stories."

Rolling her eyes, Nadine grabbed her packed rucksack. "Don't leave this room too often," she cautioned, and then she left, leaving the key behind. She wouldn't need it where she was going.

* * *

Chloe stretched.

The flight attendant's voice sounded over the intercom. _"Remain seated with your seatbelts fastened until we come to a full and complete stop."_

"We're in India," Derek grunted. "Why're they saying that in English?"

"Because we all came from Australia, including the attendants, you idiot," Chloe responded. Despite the warning, she threw off her seatbelt, stood, and retrieved her backpack from directly above her. She ignored the dirty looks from the flight attendants. "Also, they used to be an English colony. They speak English, too."

"Oh. Good point," Derek said.

Rolling her eyes, Chloe sat back down with her backpack hugged to her belly, watching eagerly for when she could stand and run up the aisle. She'd been mashed in next to Derek the entire flight and she was tired of his bulk and his stink. His pumped up muscles and the pumped up ego they gave him had her skin crawling, mostly because in her youth the look and his masculine man-sweat-musk smell and his ego had pumped the blood in her veins _directly_ to her loins. She resented the hell out of him for still smelling the same as he did _then_.

Twenty minutes later, they stood outside the airport.

"So what now?" Chloe asked. "Where is this ruin, or puzzle, or… whatever you need my help with?" She knew it wasn't _him_ who needed the help, but he hadn't realized he'd let that detail slip and she wasn't about to let him know that.

Derek was fiddling with his phone. "Car's pulling up in a few minutes."

Chloe pursed her lips. "And how long of a drive is it?"

He shrugged. "Fifteen minutes."

"So three hours. Got it." He looked utterly confused, prompting Chloe to sigh before explaining. "It's New Delhi. You get places faster on foot, and there's _never_ no traffic."

He grunted. "We'll walk to the hotel once the car drops us off, don't worry."

That got her attention. "Hotel? We're not going directly to this… problem?"

"No," he said, hoisted his bag, and began walking. "Here's the car. Let's go."

Twenty minutes later – not bad – they were on foot, avoiding the worst of the traffic by not driving much within the actual city. They just drove _to_ the city.

The streets were utterly familiar to Chloe. Color meshed with the dreary browns of dirt and grime. People talked with each other, vendors shouted to shoppers, and foot traffic spilled out into the road, slowing cars and prompting plenty of horn honking and shouted curses. Chloe hadn't even spent a great deal of time in New Delhi, only ever passing through on her way elsewhere. But she'd done this walk enough times to develop a sense of nostalgia now that she was here again.

She hadn't been back to India since she, Sam, and Nadine had stopped Asav. _I wonder how that little girl is doing_ , she thought, thinking of the girl who had helped her at the beginning of the whole thing. She'd been able to keep her promise and bring the girl pizza.

Chloe smiled. That had been a good night. She'd first slept with Nadine that night. They'd come a long way since then.

"There's the hotel," Derek said, pointing up the street and pulling Chloe's attention back to the here and now. It was dingy, nondescript. After the place in Sydney Derek had been staying, it was a downright slum. Chloe was immediately suspicious.

"Say, when are we getting armed?" she asked, trying not to let her suspicion show in her tone. They'd had to ditch their firearms in Sydney – can't take a gun on a commercial flight.

"Why do you think we're going to the hotel? I've got everything we need in there."

Chloe nodded. She still didn't like it. She didn't know what she was walking into. There could be lackeys in there, waiting and armed.

"Tell you what," she said. "You go in and get the guns, bring me mine out here. Then we can go in together."

She could almost _feel_ his side-eye. "Really? You don't trust me?"

"You kidnapped my mother and son to force my cooperation. No, I don't trust you. Jackass."

He had the audacity to chuckle. "Fine, fine." Shaking his head, he left her out front, heading inside without her.

Chloe crossed her arms and leaned against a low wall outside the hotel. Her shirt stuck to her skin uncomfortably. It was summer here, hot and humid like New York had been. All of this intercontinental travel was fucking with her equilibrium. Sydney had been winter, not cold, but not hot like this, and she hadn't had a chance to dress for this kind of weather, still walking around in jeans, a long-sleeve thermal, and steel-toed boots. Hopefully she'd have a chance to find new clothes soon.

New clothes, and a shower.

Chloe's mind wandered as she waited for Derek. She thought of Nadine, of her mother, and of Max most of all. What must he think of all of this? _Likely he thinks it's a grand adventure_ , she thought, a smile pulling at her lips.

Her thoughts strayed further, to Nadine's worried look as Chloe left them in the zoo. She saw her mother's face in her mind's eye, also worried, but confused as well. She hadn't known what was going on, though she was smart enough not to ask in that moment. Would Nadine have filled her in? What would _she_ think of all this?

A faint sound drew Chloe's attention. Obeying her instinct, she crouched, and it saved her life. A bullet whizzed by Chloe, grazing her arm, the sound of the silenced pistol swallowed by the sounds of the city.

A cry rose up behind her on the street – a bystander hit by the bullet – and a muffled curse reached her ears from inside the hotel.

Chloe didn't stick around to think. She popped up out of her crouch and began to run.

 _At least I still have my phone_ , she thought.


	10. Chapter 10

Nadine watched intently as the plane taxied on the tarmac under the stars. She had been restless the entire flight, though no one would know it to look at her. She'd worn a scowl and stared out the window the entire 12-hour flight, only interrupting her musings to use the lavatory or quiet the hunger pangs with some stale airplane chips.

The entire way she had tried to make a plan. Chloe had once told her to relax, she'd live longer. And Nadine had indeed learned to relax and go with the flow. Unfortunately, the flow was always Chloe's. Nadine had never been in charge of coming up with a plan on the fly. She was incredibly bad at it. Whenever she had planned a job, it was _planned_. And when that plan inevitably went out the window, Chloe had been there to pick up the pieces and turn it into a payday.

Nadine would just shake her head and make some comment about being the muscle. And Chloe would smirk, eye her, and make suggestions for what she could do with all that muscle later. And that was good enough for Nadine. She did not need to be the subterfuge behind their operations. She was not a thief by training, and knew where her actual strengths lay. Ask her to plan a battle, or threaten someone into cooperating, and she would succeed with flying colors.

 _That's it_ , she thought as the plane came to a stop. Everyone else around her was actually antsy, just waiting for the moment they could grab their carry-ons and _leave_ , but Nadine had reached a stillness that usually only accompanied a battle scenario. _I am a tactician. I am a soldier, even without an army. A warrior, as Chloe once so eloquently put it. I need to stop approaching this like a job with a payload. This is a warzone. What does an individual soldier do when cut off from reinforcements?_

Nadine nodded her head like she was actually speaking with someone in front of her.

 _They focus on their next move and they don't worry about the whole battlefield. I can't help Chloe without weapons and her location. So that's what's next. Weapons, and Chloe's location._

The plane empty, Nadine got up and pulled her backpack over her shoulder, moving almost mechanically as she plotted out her next steps.

An hour later, Nadine was in a back alley, putting away her cash after paying a haggled price for guns, knives, and pepper spray – you could never discount the silent usefulness of the stuff. Holding his head was the weapons dealer, sporting a black eye for trying to shake her down with a knife after she'd already paid what she knew was a fair price for the items. His injury had been her "haggling."

Messy, but effective, as Chloe would say.

Pulling out her phone – heavily encrypted and impossible to track (she'd learned her lesson when Rafe had tracked the Drake brothers that way) – Nadine set about the business of looking up Chloe's position.

Her heart leapt into her throat. Chloe was practically on top of her!

Nadine looked up and around, but of course saw nothing. She was in an alley, a black market arms dealer cursing in Hindi nearby. Heading out to the street, she still saw nothing. Again, not a surprise. The street was as densely packed as the cans of sardines Nadine always had on-hand in case Chloe hangrily ransacked their other rations.

Sighing, Nadine shook her head. Her GPS tracker would not tell her anything more specific than that the signal was nearby.

 _I hate climbing_ , she thought, reaching for a drainpipe nearby and testing her weight. She began her climb, aiming for the room so she could scan the crowds for Chloe the old-fashioned way – with her eyes. _Why did this have to be timed so I'm looking for her in the dark?_

* * *

Chloe awoke with a start. Her run through the city had been a romp, but she had started to lose speed, so she'd headed for the rooftops, hoping she could lose her pursuers in the process. It had worked, and she'd spent the rest of the afternoon and into the night holed up in the same tight spot on a random roof.

"Must've dozed off," she murmured to herself. Stretching her neck, she peeked up over the ducts she'd taken refuge within.

No sign of anyone.

"Well," she breathed. "No one's found me. That's a good sign." She frowned. She'd lost Derek, which meant she'd come here for nothing and left her family in someone else's hands.

 _Nadine won't let harm come to them_ , Chloe thought as she rose from her hiding place and stretched muscles stiff from running and then sleeping curled in an uncomfortable ball. _She promised_.

A niggling voice in the back of her head reminded her that promises were often broken. She tried hard to tell the voice to go fuck itself, but still it remained, quietly making her doubt everything.

"Stop it," she finally said out loud, crouching to draw less attention to herself on the off-chance someone was up here. "You made it this far, Chloe. You just need to put on your big-girl pants and see it the rest of the way through. Figure out who _actually_ wanted you here and would hire Derek to get you. Then go from there."

Taking a deep breath, Chloe began to move. She would need to attempt to find the dingy motel again and gather intel from there. If she could find a familiar landmark from the day before, she should be able to make her way back to where she'd been shot at.

She headed for the tallest building in the vicinity. The streets were narrow enough she did not need to touch the ground in order to make her way. It took her some time to climb, but it was a good stretch for her muscles after the long night.

As the sun began rising, Chloe reached the top platform of the old brick apartment building she was climbing. She stood at the top for a few minutes, hovering near the edge, appreciating the oranges and pinks of the sunrise just as they emerged.

Then she heard something that made her heart try to jump right out of her chest.

"Chloe?!"

Chloe crouched and turned, scanning for the voice. It sounded like Nadine, a harsh whisper that carried in the stillness of the dawn. A dark shape moved, nearly black against the sunless sky behind it.

"Nadine?" Chloe whispered, still unable to see properly so soon after staring into the sunrise.

Several of Chloe's senses were triggered at once. Nadine said her name again, the sound of her voice like heaven after shit hit the fan with Derek back in Sydney. Warmth and strength wrapped around her, lifting her out of her crouch and off her feet for a moment. Next came the familiar scent, coconut oil and sweat and cotton all mixing together and filling Chloe with such _hope_.

 _Shit, I really do love her_ , she thought before framing that beautiful face in two hands and kissing Nadine for all she was worth, adding a warm, wet taste to her already nearly overloaded senses. Arms settled around Chloe's waist, holding firmly but not too tightly, just like always. Chloe hadn't even realized there was a "just like always" and yet here she was.

 _So much for keeping my distance_ , she thought.

Fun though this reunion was, Chloe never lost sight of the fact they were on a very visible rooftop in New Delhi, city where she'd been shot at twelve hours before.

"Come on," she said, pulling away and taking Nadine by the hand. She led the other woman – both of them panting from the intensity of their kiss – away from the edge of the building, crouching once more near a heating vent, unused now during the summer time.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, unwilling to let go of Nadine's muscular arms.

"What am _I_ doing here? What are _you_ doing here?!" Nadine countered, though her smile was still in place, small and beautiful and a little harsh. A moment's consideration told Chloe that her own cheeks hurt from smiling so hard. "Aren't you supposed to be finding out Derek's big secret?"

"The bastard led me into a trap," Chloe said, shaking her head. "I got away-"

"I'm going to kill that little maggot," Nadine interjected.

"-and I hid out on a rooftop," Chloe finished, her smile pulling into a smirk.

"Any sign of pursuit?" Nadine said, finally breaking their connection to look around. Ever the professional, even now. Chloe's heart ached.

"No." Chloe took hold of the other woman's arm, turning her. "Nadine. My family. Max." Her voice cracked. "My mum. They're…?"

"They're safe," Nadine said, brown eyes looking directly into Chloe's, never flinching. Trust Nadine Ross to never, ever shy away from giving you the truth. "I had to call in some help, but they'll be safe."

"Who?"

A frown. "Drake. Sam Drake. And Victor Sullivan."

Chloe relaxed. Yes, those two would keep her mother and son safe. She wasn't thrilled they now _knew_ about Chloe's son. She'd worked hard to keep enemies and colleagues alike from her son. But given Derek's involvement, the world knowing about Max was going to happen anyway. At least he was with friends.

"I'm sure they'll have him winning at poker by the time we get back," Nadine finished with a noise of disgust.

Chloe laughed, shaking her head. "You think Mum doesn't already have him hustling me whenever I'm home?"

Nadine chuckled. "What little I've learned of her, you're probably right. That woman has layers." She grew serious, reaching for Chloe's arm. "You didn't get away completely unharmed," she said, pulling Chloe's attention to her bicep. A ragged wound was visible through her thermal shirt – still on, still far too hot for this climate. The wound had clearly bled for some time, though Chloe had been too busy running for her life to notice. It was now dried blood, but a flexing of her arm started the bleeding up again.

Chloe winced, sucking in a breath. "Shit. Fucking silenced pistol."

"I'll take care of it," Nadine said, and began working silently and methodically. She tore away the ripped sleeve – Chloe was not sad to see it go – and pulled a knife from her belt. After it was cut length-wise twice, she soaked one rag in water from her backpack and held it over the wound to loosen the scabs and dried blood.

While she worked, Chloe couldn't help but notice Nadine's smooth and efficient movements, marveling once again at how Nadine was harsh and no-nonsense without crossing over into rough. She could even be gentle. _She would've made a good partner with a baby_ , Chloe found herself thinking.

Nadine pulled the wet cloth away after a minute or two and flushed the wound from her water bottle. Finally, she tied the second length of Chloe's sleeve – sans bloodstained bits – around the wound. "Can't stitch it, so it'll scar. But hopefully we've kept infection out." Brown eyes flashed up to Chloe's, and her brows furrowed. "What?"

Chloe shook away her warm thoughts of domesticity. _Seriously where the hell did_ _ **that**_ _come from?_ "Nothing. It's… nothing."

Nadine frowned, but dropped it. "So. What next? Do we leave? Find Derek and break both his legs?"

Chloe sighed, running her hand through her hair. It had been in a braid, but between her run through the city and subsequent night crammed into what was essentially a crawlspace, it was more out than in. She set about re-braiding the long strands while she stared at Nadine, thinking.

"I think we need to see this through," Chloe finally said, binding her brain and dropping her hands. "Bastard was right about one thing."

"What?" Nadine asked.

"Oh. He told me they'd find me, totally giving away that he was working _for_ someone and not himself. Idiot. But he's right. They know where I live; or, Derek does, anyway. They know about Max. They want my cooperation, or my silence. We need to finish this or we'll never know peace."

"Never figured you for a _peace_ sort of girl," Nadine scoffed.

Chloe smirked. "With you, china, I think I'd like to try it." She placed a hand on Nadine's arm, and the contact pulled a genuine – if small – smile from her.

"Ja. All right." Nadine stood up. "So. We find them. See what they want. Take out the threat."

Chloe chuckled. "When you say it like that, it sounds like a plan."

"A _vague_ plan. An _outline_ of a plan." Nadine scowled. "Lots of room for shit to go sideways."

Chloe pursed her lips. "Sure. _Or_ , you could say it leaves room for improvisation?"

Nadine shrugged. "Tomato, tomato."

"You mean to- _mah_ -to."

"I meant what I said," Nadine said, eyebrow raised in challenge.

Chloe rolled her eyes, moving around her girlfriend – _girlfriend. When did that start sounding right?_ – and toward the edge of the building once more. "Jesus. You came all the way to Australia and then India to declare your love for me, and I can't even catch a break on the improv? It _works_!" Chloe pursed her lips. " _Most_ of the time."

Nadine caught her arm. "Hey."

Chloe turned. "Yeah?"

"I do. Love you, I mean. It's… I do."

Chloe smiled, putting her hand over Nadine's. "I know, Nadine. I love you, too."

They spent a moment staring at each other before Chloe cleared her throat. "Come on. Work to do. We can fuck like bunnies later, yeah?"

Nadine breathed out a laugh. "Ja." She nodded ahead of her. "After you."

Chloe headed for the building's edge to get a lay of the land, Nadine's hand in her own and her heart settled for the first time since leaving Sydney.


	11. Chapter 11

Retracing her steps through New Delhi was difficult, particularly from the ground, where Chloe had to contend with the foot traffic of the day. She and Nadine blended in by haggling for new outfits and covering their hair with scarves. The light linen was well suited to the heat, and Chloe got to admire the sight of Nadine's face framed by the bright fabric of the scarf whenever they locked eyes.

No one could see that they were both armed to the teeth under the flowing drapes of fabric.

It took the better part of the day to find that dingy hotel again, but finally, Chloe and Nadine were perched on a rooftop, in the shadows – scarves tucked into packs to not draw attention to themselves – and peering at the hotel through binoculars.

"Well, this place sure is a shithole," Nadine murmured.

"No argument here," Chloe agreed. "See any sign of Derek?"

"Negative. Would they have stayed put after accidentally shooting someone in the crowd?"

Chloe pursed her lips, pulling the binoculars away. "Good point. I guess we'll need to take a closer look."

"Cover of darkness?" Nadine suggested.

"Sure. I'll sneak in at dusk."

"Right," Nadine said with a nod, rolling onto her back. "Hardest to see then. People don't turn on their lights because there's still _some_ light coming from outside."

"Exactly," Chloe said. It was the perfect time for all sorts of shenanigans. People thought they could see but couldn't all that well, so you could get away with a lot.

"We should try to get some rest until then," Nadine said, pulling her pack over. "We can sleep under these ducts."

Chloe smirked. "Sure. _Sleep_."

Nadine's eyes narrowed in the late afternoon sun. "I am _not_ having sex with you up here!" She held up her filthy hands. "You do not want these anywhere inside you!"

Chloe cocked her head to the side. "Your _tongue_ wasn't climbing all those walls."

Nadine huffed and rolled onto her side, using her backpack as a pillow. "You're insane, Frazer."

Chloe sighed, giving up what was really never a serious idea in the first place. "All right, Ross. You win." She scooted closer, wrapping an arm around Nadine's middle and surrounding herself in that lovely scent she knew so well. Despite the warmth of the day, it felt _good_ to hold her lover like this.

She loosened her hold after a moment, planning to give Nadine some space in the heat. But a hot, rough hand encircled her wrist. "Don't," Nadine said, and there was a note of something desperate in her voice. "Stay here. I…"

"All right," Chloe said quietly, a soft smile pulling at her lips. "It's been a lot. I'm right here."

She wrapped her arm tightly around Nadine's waist and settled in to get some rest.

* * *

Nadine awoke from a very _sexy_ dream. And while she did not currently wish to have sex – she was serious about the rooftop _not being the place_ – waking next to Chloe brought a smile to her face.

She did it. She found Chloe. A quick text from Sam the day before ensured all parties remained safe and undiscovered. Somehow, miraculously… it was all still okay.

Nadine took a long moment to herself to luxuriate in the calm feeling of Chloe's arm pulled tight around her belly. Deep, even breaths blew rhythmically into her hair from Chloe's parted lips, spreading warmth each time. The moisture wouldn't be good for her hair, but Nadine could hardly bring herself to care. She could fix it later. Chloe was irreplaceable, and she was lying here, whole and healthy.

But the moment did eventually need to end. The sun would fully set soon, losing them their window of opportunity to gather recon. So she ignored the impulse to just lie there and fall back asleep and instead turned in the circle of her girlfriend's arm.

That did it. Chloe's eyes popped open, her body tensed for a second. But her eyes fell on Nadine's immediately, and her whole body relaxed. "Hey."

"Hey."

Chloe's arm tightened for a moment, and Nadine allowed herself to sink into the embrace. She'd confessed her love and then nearly lost Chloe all within the span of a single day. She had her back. She could continue to appreciate that fact.

Chloe released her and rolled to her back. "Oh, damn," she groaned. "I am _not_ put together like I used to be."

Nadine sat up, feeling each one of her vertebrae crack into place as her spine straightened. Truth be told, neither was she. Fifteen years ago, sleeping on the ground would have been no problem. But Nadine was no longer the agile teenager she'd been then and her body was reminding her of that fact every time she had to sleep on the damn ground.

Or… roof.

"Come on, stretch it out," Nadine murmured, pushing herself to her feet and then pulling Chloe up.

Ten minutes later, they slipped inside the top floor's hallway from an open window. The lights hadn't come on just yet, but the air felt murky, hardly penetrable by sight. It was perfect.

Using hand signals, Nadine indicated Chloe should head to the first floor. They had their earpieces again, they could communicate. They needed information on who was here, who had shot at Chloe, and where they might have gone. Neither Nadine nor Chloe were under any illusions that her assailants would still be hanging around. Not after shooting into the crowd and _hitting_ someone.

Nadine waited where she was, acting as lookout.

"Good luck," she whispered into her earpiece.

"I don't need luck, remember?" Chloe shot back, bringing a smile to Nadine's lips.

 _Damn that woman_ , she thought. _I am so glad I have her._

* * *

Creating a distraction for the sole person at the front desk was simple enough. Chloe merely stopped by the boiler on her way, loosening a pipe with a giant wrench that was just sitting there, waiting for someone like her to wreak some havoc. Then she mussed her hair, poured some water on it from a canteen she'd purchased that day, and ran to the front.

"The hot water is out! Water pressure dropped! I was in the middle of a _shower_ , man!"

The gentleman at the front – little more than a teenager, likely related to the dingy hotel's owner – just stared over his magazine for a moment, reminding Chloe of a squirrel.

"Get up and fix it!" she almost shouted, trying to jostle him out of his seat.

"What am I supposed to do about?" he asked, but at least he got up.

Chloe sighed, going around the desk and guiding him with a hand behind his back. "Left you in charge with no training, huh? Poor kid. Go into the boiler room and see if anything's loose or broken. If they won't call you a plumber, I'll vouch that you did what you could."

She sent him on his way with a little shove between the shoulder blades. _Not unlike making Max do the dishes_ , she thought. _Oh, I hope he's not too scared_.

"Did they leave a _kid_ in charge?" came Nadine's voice through the earpiece.

"Sorta, yeah," Chloe murmured, watching until the kid's back disappeared. Then she locked the front door of the hotel and jumped behind the desk, immediately reaching for the decrepit computer.

It took a few minutes, but soon Chloe had a list of guests in the last three days. And there he was. Derek wasn't using his surname, but he _was_ using his first name, and in the column marked "visiting from" he was listed as "UK." _Not technically correct_ , Chloe thought. _We came from Australia. But close enough._

A little more digging had the names for the whole floor. She printed the list off and grabbed the papers, folding and stuffing them into her jeans just as she heard the door to the boiler room opening. She ran for the stairs, not wanting to be around when the kid got back. He'd ask what room she was in so he could test and see if he'd fixed the problem. She'd rather avoid that.

She returned triumphant upstairs, and followed Nadine and her deliciously round behind out the window and back up onto the roof. They didn't stop moving until they couldn't see the hotel anymore, just in case someone spotted them.

"What did you find?" Nadine said when they finally stopped. It was truly dark by now, a few stars twinkling above them, the city lights not allowing any more visibility of the heavens than that.

Chloe pulled the pages out of her pocket and sat down, grinning. "Names. I doubt all of them are connected to Derek, but some of them have _got_ to be. Maybe one of them is even the one who hired him to get me here."

Nadine nodded, pulling out her phone. "Good. Let's do some research."

* * *

"This one," Nadine said, turning and pointing to her phone's screen. Chloe put away the Ganesh figurine she'd been absently playing with and sat up to look.

"This one?" Chloe took the phone and started scrolling. "Huh."

"What?"

"I just… wasn't expecting a woman."

Nadine smirked. "Even _you_ will underestimate a woman?"

Chloe shrugged. "Never underestimated _you_." She looked up to flash a grin and a wink.

Nadine laughed, reaching out and punching Chloe gently on her uninjured arm. Then she slid forward off her makeshift seat of an HVAC duct, sidling up next to Chloe and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. It felt like the most natural move in the world, but it was not the kind of casual show of affection she had never let herself perform before. Before, things were casual. Before, they had not shared their feelings. Before, she would resist the urge _every time_.

Now she did not have to, and amid all the shit of the situation they were in, it was a good feeling. It filled her up somehow. She liked it. She never thought she could be a sappy person, but here she was, enjoying just _holding_ someone she loved. The dirt all over her and the fact they were on a roof in the middle of danger could perhaps add some grit to it, but when it came down to it… Nadine Ross was smiling for a simple show of love.

 _I've gone soft. There's no getting away from it._

"So," she said aloud. "This _woman_ you weren't expecting." Nadine took the phone and pulled Chloe into her, holding it so they both could see it. "What do you think her deal is?"

"Well. I imagine she's holding a rather spectacular grudge." Chloe large eyes looked up into Nadine's. "She _is_ Asav's sister, after all."


	12. Chapter 12

_Olivia Asav._

Chloe shook her head slowly, staring at the name on her phone screen.

Asav's _sister_. That had been entirely unexpected. The internet dug up a little info on the woman – she was a full ten years junior to her brother, and she was a rather accomplished lawyer despite all the shit women had to wade through to accomplish that sort of thing – but Chloe had _no idea_ what this woman had to do with Asav's operation. Sure, she was probably pissed Chloe had helped kill Asav, leaving him trapped under his own nuke as his train plummeted into a river below. But was this woman sympathetic to Asav's cause? Was this political as well as personal? Was it personal at all?

Chloe didn't really give a shit either way. They kidnapped her son and mother. They'd made it personal for _Chloe_ right from the start. And she was determined to end it. Then she and Nadine could worry about how to best hide her family from her line of work again. And they could do it together.

 _Together_ , Chloe thought, a small smile pulling at her lips. Not as business partners who occasionally shagged, but a real, actual partner she could trust with the most precious things in her life. _Hell_ , she amended, _if we get through this, she'll be in that category of 'most precious things' herself._

"Hey."

Chloe looked up at Nadine. They were still on the rooftop. Dawn had come, and it would soon be true day. They needed to do something, go somewhere. Maybe sleep. All of this, Nadine communicated with a look of concern. A look that was still very new for Chloe.

"Yeah," Chloe said, nodding and putting the phone away. "Let's, uh. Let's find someplace to lay low. Get some rest."

"Yeah, all right," Nadine said. "I arranged a place before landing. In case I had the good fortune of finding you relatively quickly."

"Or in case you couldn't find me and needed a place to sleep," Chloe said, nodding. She got to her feet. "Lead on, then."

* * *

It took a full hour of climbing to find landfall unseen. It took another hour to navigate through the city to the hotel. It was nothing fancy, just a bed, a table, and a chair over by the window. But it was air-conditioned, and it had a shower and a clean bed.

Nadine showered first. Chloe thought about joining her, she really did, but she wanted to check on her son. Using Nadine's encrypted phone, she sent a message to Sam, asking how Max was doing. While she waited for his response, she stared out the window, running through the information she had.

Olivia Asav was responsible for the kidnapping of her son and mother. She may not have said, "Go out and kidnap Chloe's son and mother," but she had hired Erik because of their past and that was enough. What did she want, though? What could Chloe give her?

Chloe had many skills, it was true. She was an _excellent_ shag. She could also pick locks, solve puzzles, climb for days, and continue to be productive even with mud in her boots, seeping between her toes, and that was an _underrated_ skill. But surely that wasn't worth this kind of extortion? So what did this woman _want_?

Sam's response buzzed in Chloe's hands, and her heart felt light for a moment to see Max was doing fine. They had made friends, Sam said, and Sully and Sam were regaling him with tales from their own adventures. He cautioned her to keep her head in the game and to let him know how things went when all was said and done.

Chloe sighed in relief. So far, so good.

The water turned off, drawing Chloe's attention to the open bathroom door. After only a moment, smooth, glistening brown skin was revealed, one leg at a time. Nadine stepped out of the shower, all soft skin covering hard muscle, the look only ruined a little by the presence of the cheap, blue plastic shower cap enveloping her hair. Chloe, heart still buoyed by news of her son, was drawn away from her spot by the window. Stripping her clothes as she went, Chloe joined her naked girlfriend in the bathroom.

Chloe pulled Nadine into a kiss, taking her towel before it had done much to dry her and dropping it on the floor. She pushed Nadine gently back into the shower and against the wall, humming when Nadine veritably _purred_ into her mouth. Turning on the water, Chloe got to work, kneeling and pulling all the sounds she loved out from between those beautiful lips, squeezing every ounce of pleasure from this brief moment of respite she could.

* * *

Nadine opened her eyes to late afternoon sunlight, the filtering effect of the gauzy first layer of curtain making it feel lazy and thick. For a moment she thought she might be back in New York, or perhaps in Johannesburg on a Sunday afternoon in the summer.

But no. Chloe lay there next to her, and on her phone – its buzz what had awoken her – a picture of Max and Elizabeth, posing with bunny ears over each other's heads. Life had changed too deeply since last Nadine had been in Johannesburg for that feeling to be anything other than fleeting. This was better anyway.

She sat up rather abruptly. She and Chloe had work to do, and while their reunion had been wonderful – a word she _rarely_ used – they could not dally. Not any more than they already had.

Rolling out of bed, Nadine reached for her clothes. They would be the dirty ones from the day before, but there was nothing for it.

"Hey," she said gently. "Wake up, Frazer."

Chloe roused, rolled over, and opened her eyes. "Not that I mind the view, but what gives?"

Nadine smirked, then threw Chloe's own dirty clothes onto her face. "Get dressed. We need to get moving."

Chloe only complained briefly about the need for yesterday's clothes. By the time she was dressed, she was in work mode again. She smiled at the picture of her family, but there was a hint of panic underneath. Nadine was sure Chloe had never had quite so much riding on her success or failure.

They'd spoken of it briefly before they'd fallen asleep. Chloe couldn't die, not just because she didn't want to die, but because to do so would deny Max his mother. She had tried to explain how different that was, to do something selfish for entirely unselfish reasons, and Nadine understood. At least, Nadine understood as best she could. But she knew that she had no idea. She couldn't, not really. She's never had someone so utterly dependent on her as Chloe had in Max. So Nadine held Chloe through the revelations of her fears and then kissed her tears away when Chloe was ready to be done. She couldn't do much more than that.

Now, she followed Chloe's lead in her emotions but took the lead on the action.

"We need to track this woman down," Nadine said, taking her phone from Chloe. "Sam gave me a lead, and I sent some messages before. I'm hoping…" Nadine trailed off, opening a secure email app.

"What's going on, love?" Chloe asked. A warm hand on her shoulder made it clear she meant it as a true endearment.

"A hunch," Nadine said, scrolling through a few messages from her newly re-enabled military contact email. "This Olivia Asav? She's fishing for hired muscle. I think she might have restarted Asav's little rebellion and needs numbers."

"And then once she's got numbers, she can convince more people to join her cause," Chloe said as she pulled back her hair. "Why does she want to start it back up?"

"Dunno." Nadine typed out a message thanking an old contact for the prospective job working for this new girl in India. "Asav kept going on about the old Hoysala kings. You think that's _her_ deal?"

"High-powered lawyer in no-nonsense pumps?" Chloe said, referring to pictures of the woman they'd seen online the night before. "Not likely."

"Do you think it's as simple as we killed her brother?" Nadine said, looking up from her phone.

Chloe shrugged. "Dunno, love. Guess we'll have to find her and ask."

Nadine narrowed her eyes. "I don't plan on having enough _time_ to ask."

"Oh, I _love_ it when you get all murdery." Chloe goosed her, causing her to jump in a most undignified way, then kissed her on the cheek. "Do tell me you have a location?"

Nadine put away her phone, marveling at the fact that she did _not_ want to punch Chloe for what she just did. "Ja. I do." She took a deep breath and let it out. "The blasted jungle again."


	13. Chapter 13

Nadine sat on a high branch. Spread out before her was a decent view of a little village on the edge of the jungle.

"You all right?" Nadine said into her radio.

Chloe's voice sounded in her ear. _"Yeah, I'm good. Told you this was a good idea, love."_

Nadine frowned, looking through her binoculars toward the village. "I'm still not convinced."

 _"You won't be convinced until we're safe out of here, and even then you'll tell me it was too risky."_

Nadine clenched her teeth but remained silent. It _was_ too risky, but there was no convincing Chloe of that. And Nadine had no choice but to agree to this harebrained idea – they had no other lead. Information and connections had gotten them to this village, but no closer to their goal than that. Recon was needed.

So Chloe had waltzed into that village, her face – her very _recognizable_ face – just out there for everyone to see, so that she could collect the information they so desperately needed. Meanwhile, Nadine was her backup, perched on a hill in a tree overlooking the village in case anything went south.

Nadine _knew_ something would go south.

For the second time in ten minutes, Nadine checked all her weapons. She had several handguns on her person, three throwing knives, a hunting knife (you never knew when you'd need a large, weighty knife), a can of pepper spray, and a Taser. Chloe always laughed at the pepper spray, but Nadine had _seen_ someone go up in flames after being sprayed and then Tasered, and she had henceforth always kept that option in her back pocket. Or, well. Her side cargo pocket.

 _"Are you checking your weaponry again, china?"_

Nadine scowled, holstering the gun she'd been checking. "It's comforting," she huffed.

 _"I'm so glad I have a girlfriend who's comforted by loading a gun. I'll keep that in mind in the bedroom."_

"Shut it," Nadine said. "Concentrate. What's going on there?"

 _"Well, no one seems to give a shit about_ _ **me**_ _,"_ Chloe said in her ear. _"This is a tiny village. They shouldn't be so used to seeing faces they don't know."_

"So they've had a lot of people moving in and out," Nadine mused. She looked through her binoculars again, spotting Chloe's form making it's way around the large hut in the center of the village. Their plan wasn't a great plan, but Chloe had argued that sitting outside the village and waiting for information would get them nowhere, so here they were, walking through the village and looking for the information.

 _"This place looks like something out of an old Vietnam War movie_ , _"_ Chloe responded.

Nadine didn't respond, just continued observing Chloe's movements through the binoculars. Chloe went to a couple rickety stalls set up for the soldiers, looking through some local sweets and buying a simple cake that she then ate, continuing to walk through the small village. Nadine suspected there would be no actual market here – it was small enough that if someone needed something, they would simply go to the only person in town who could provide it. The stalls were set up only recently, when the soldiers arrived and commandeered that central hut.

Nadine could see guards posted at the door of that hut. They made her nervous.

 _"I'm not getting anything,"_ Chloe finally said. _"I need to do something else before I'm noticed and the soldiers get suspicious."_

Nadine's heart pounded suddenly. She did _not_ like the sound of that.

"Chloe, no. Whatever it is, no. It's not worth the risk."

A hard note entered Chloe's voice. _"Sure it is,"_ she said, and Nadine watched her approach those soldiers guarding the large central hut. _"Any risk is worth keeping my son safe."_

"You said you needed to keep yourself safe _for him_!" Nadine hissed, pressing the binoculars painfully into her face.

Chloe approached the soldiers. _"Here goes nothing."_

"Dammit Chloe!"

Nadine watched Chloe, heart pounding so hard she was sure it would escape through her chest. This was why she'd never attached herself to someone, and why her dad hadn't, either. She was terrified. Whatever Chloe was going to go, it was going to get her killed, and then Nadine would be bereft of Chloe _and_ landed with her family!

Selfish dickhead!

Chloe was in plain clothes, nothing colorful or too feminine, a junked-up AK-47 strapped to her back, playing the part of a mercenary without a force wandering through town. Apparently she had a different thought now for her disguise.

 _"Hey mates,"_ she said. _"I heard through the grapevine you fellas need some hands. Mine are rather capable."_

Nadine didn't hear the response from the men – the radio only kicked in at the vibration of Chloe's voice against it – but Chloe's next line told her it was something vulgar.

 _"I can do that plenty well, but I meant with a gun. Pig."_

Nadine shook her head. _Please don't shoot off your gasket_ , she thought at Chloe. Chloe may have played loose with her body – as was her right before anything exclusive with Nadine – but call her a whore, and you were likely to lose your tongue.

Nadine saw one of the men say something into his shoulder-radio.

 _"Now, boys, I think we can come to an understanding, don't you?"_

Now things were tense. And something else was happening, something Chloe couldn't see. But Nadine could, right through her binoculars. Every soldier in the village was now holding themselves at attention, on high alert.

"Chloe, get out of there. Now!"

Chloe turned. _"Fine, I know when I'm not wanted,"_ she threw over her shoulder, and started walking.

The men she'd been speaking to stepped forward. One of them said something. Then Chloe yelled over the radio, and Nadine watched the man who grabbed her pull the earpiece out of Chloe's ear and throw it on the ground. Nadine pulled its companion out of her own ear just as the loud shriek of the man's boot heel tried to deafen her.

"No no no!" Nadine chanted, barely able to keep it quiet. She's just gotten Chloe back. They couldn't… they couldn't take her again!

She searched frantically with her binoculars, but the soldiers were back on patrol, and Chloe and the two guards were gone.

Nadine just barely managed not to throw the binoculars in anger and fear. She took a deep breath, slowing her breathing, which was threatening to match her panicked pulse beat for beat.

"Focus," she told herself out loud. She looked through the binoculars again, then dropped them so they hung from her neck.

She narrowed her eyes. "I need to get inside that hut."

* * *

Chloe groaned. Her head ached and her wrists hurt. She pulled on them, but they wouldn't budge. She groaned again. It wasn't her first time waking up tied to something. But she still didn't _like_ it. _Except that one time Nadine tied me to the bed and then woke me up with cunnilingus, but that's beside the point!_ Her nether regions gave an entirely inappropriate tug at the memory.

"You have been a thorn in my side."

Chloe finally opened her eyes, blinking at the glare of the fluorescent lights. There was something familiar about that phrase, and the voice that said it.

"Asav?" she whispered, looking around.

Chloe's eyes landed on a sight incongruous with the surroundings. The inside of the hut was drab wooden walls and buzzing fluorescent lights. The floor was bare, poorly laid concrete. But the woman standing next to the folding table – the person who had spoken – was beautiful, her clothing well tailored. Sure, her hair was hastily pulled back in a ponytail and the clothes themselves were dusty fatigues. But they fit her like a glove, and her demeanor was _all_ business. She was attractive enough that in any other circumstances she would have turned Chloe's head.

This must be Olivia Asav. Her brother had been attractive like that. Chloe resented it immediately.

"Oh," was all Chloe said out loud. They must have hit her head _hard_ to give her this splitting headache. She'd been knocked cold. That would mean she had a concussion.

Damn.

"Is that really all you can manage?" Olivia asked, stalking forward. The click of her heels indicated they had a heel, and upon examination, Chloe could see they gave her ass a feminine lift without looking completely out of place.

"Oh, it's you," Chloe responded.

That earned her a small chuckle. "There's that smart mouth I was warned about." Her voice was thick and sweet. Chloe further resented her for that, too. "I can see what Erik saw in you when you worked together."

"A fine way to refer to it," Chloe remarked. He left her pregnant in the dirt with no way out of some fucking ruins. _Worked together my ass_.

Chloe looked around. Could she talk her way out of this one? Probably not. Maybe she could piss Olivia off enough to do… something. Get her close and steal a knife or a key?

 _I'm screwed_ , Chloe thought to herself, still squinting at the glare of the lights. Her head gave a throb of hot pain. _Seriously screwed_.

Olivia just stood there, leaning against her folding table, observing Chloe. Chloe continued to examine the room, ignoring how Olivia's eyes tried to bore holes into her.

Finally, Olivia broke the silence. "I wonder why my brother had such trouble with you?"

Chloe shrugged. She always had a difficult time staying quiet, and it was starting to make her sleepy doing so right now. She needed to stay awake. "I'm a pain in the ass. Ask anyone."

"Yes, you _do_ have that reputation. But you thought you could just walk in and hoodwink my men into letting you in as a _soldier_? What kind of idiot are you?"

Another shrug. "Not all my ideas are good ones," Chloe said. A nagging sensation tickled her brain. Where was Nadine? There were no guards in here. If Nadine could get inside, it would be no contest. Olivia Asav was a businesswoman. Nadine could take her with one blow.

That was it. That was her strategy. Whatever Olivia Asav's game was, Chloe just had to survive. Just outlast whatever her plan was long enough for Nadine to get her ass in here and get Chloe out.

Chloe settled in. She could keep quiet. She could stare back. She could keep answering questions in ways that didn't actually give Olivia all the information she wanted. She just needed to stretch this out. She'd be okay.

Nadine would come get her.


End file.
